Superman: Birth of a Hero
by robert32514
Summary: Supergirl AU. In another timeline, Zor-El and Alura had a son and a daughter. When Kara is lost to the Phantom Zone, Val-El is sent spiraling elsewhere. Now in the Marvel MCU, Val will experience a life much like his cousin Kal. But when forces outside of the world he calls home threatens all that he holds most dear, he must take up the mantle and become a Superman.
1. Chapter 1

**Superman: Birth of a Hero**

 **Ch. The Beginning**

 **I do not own Superman, Supergirl, or the Avengers**

 **All three are owned by their respective companies partnered with**

 **Warner Bros., The CW, and Disney**

 **Positive reviews are welcome**

 **Ch 1 The Beginning**

 **Krypton**

 **Argo City**

The Planet was in peril. Seismic activity was felt all over the world. The grounds shook about with almost uncontrollable quakes in incremental bursts. Six individuals within a single flying speeder, a smooth, plain, roofless flying vehicle, landed outside of a single, huge, oval shaped, metal grey hangar. The dome opened as one of the male figures pulled out a small, hand held device and pointed it at a walled section, a single light emitting just before the doors opened. As the doors parted, splitting apart at the center, allowing the rushed, yet scared people inside, the sound of mighty explosions could be heard from afar.

"Hurry, there's no time to lose." The one with the remote said. He wore a red, two piece full body suit. He had black hair and brown eyes. His name was Jor-El, Head of the House of El, one of Kryptons leading scientists, husband of Lara-El Lor-Van, father of the newborn child, Kal-El. In the top center of his chest, was a single symbol, an 'S' inside of a diamond format. This symbol stood for 'Hope' among the people of Krypton. And it was one that the El's would hang on to so long as their children survived.

Lara-El Lor-Van, wife of Jor-El, mother of Kal-El, had flawlessly long and curvy blond hair, and blue eyes. She wore a single, white gown. In the center top breast area of the gown, was the same symbol as her husbands lineage, signifying to what House she represented and to whom she forever belonged to.

In her arms was a child, Kal, their son. His destiny was to survive, to thrive on an alien world. And would one day, be a force for good and a leading champion of Justice. He bore his fathers hair and looks, while his eyes matched the same distinctive color and shade of blue as his mothers.

"This way." the other male member of the House of El said as he and his brother led the women and children deep into the hangar where three, tear shaped pods awaited their passengers.

The pods were a dull grey, with odd, web patterned fins. Two of them were stationed behind a single craft that both Jor-El and his wife Lara rushed to as they said their good-byes to the clueless infant.

Zor-El, like his brother, and like many a member of the House of El, was one of Kryptons leading scientists. His and Jor-Els warnings to the High Council about Kryptons imminent destruction, had fallen on deaf ears, just over several days before. The High Council of Krypton was the Leading Faction of Kryptons Government that controlled almost everything all around the planet. They would soon realize, that their vanity would cost them greatly.

Zor-El bore a lighter tone of hair than his brother, bordering on blond, inherited from his and Jors mother, and had hazel eyes. His two piece suit was a dark toned shade of blue, bearing the same shield as his brother. His wife Alura-El In-Ze, with brown hair and blue eyes, wore a similar color toned, two piece dress, also bearing the crest of the House of El upon her breast. She bore him two children, Val-El, and Kara Zor-El, fraternal twins.

Val wore a similar outfit as his father while Kara wore a white shade toned outfit. Val looked much like his mother with brown hair and had his fathers eyes, while Karas hair was a dark blond with blue eyes.

While Zor-El quickly separated himself from his wife and children to prep the ships for launch, Jor-El had already initiated Kal's vessel, sending the babe on ahead, the ships computers guidance systems were already preprogrammed for the coordinates to Earth.

Alura at this time was rushing her children upon the platform. With the last of the pre-flight instructions down loaded into both ships, Zor-El came to and rejoined his family.

He and Alura crouched slightly as they looked into and gazed upon their children one last time. Both grasped the shoulders of the younglings as it would be the last they would ever do so.

"Both of your pods coordinates are interlocked with Kal-Els. You will follow him to Earth."

"I'm not afraid, Father." Kara replied, though in truth, she was rather frightened as she knew that she would never see her parents, or her friends, nor their homeworld, ever again.

"We will look after Kal, Father, Mother." Val added, his feelings also prominent, though he tried not to how it, trying and failing to hide his true emotions.

Zor-El nodded proudly at his son. Grasping his sons shoulder, he pulled him to the side while Alura spoke to Kara, "By now, your mother is already explaining the finer points of what you and your sister will expect upon arriving upon the surface of Earth. Do you remember what I have taught you regarding Earths Sun within the Sol System and Earths gravity, as well as the changes that will take hold of you?"

"Yes, father."

"Then know, as an older brother to your sister, and the eldest living male of the House of El, the crystal Jor-El left to his son, I have given to you as well, only yours is a complete copy of Kal-Els as well, but stores both your mother and I's personality matrix instead of Jor-Els. Inside of your ship, is your robotic companion, Neel'ex. He will help to aid and guide you when you land on Earth. But for the moment, he is on a standby mode in order to conserve power. Along your long journey, you will sleep, but know that your Mother and I will always be with you, in here," he pressed an index finger against his sons heart, "and here.", pressing the same finger against his sons head a second later.

"I will not fail you or Mother, Father. Nor will I fail Uncle Jor-El and Aunt Lara." Val said, with determination in his voice, a single tear falling from his right eye, trailing down his right cheek.

"I know, son. You've already made me proud." Pulling his son into a final embrace, he held him for a moment before releasing him and letting him turn to and enter his mothers arms for the last time.

"Watch over your baby cousin and Kara, my son." she had said as she held him and Kara at the same time.

"I swear it, mother." the emotions he felt, he forced back down so as to show how strong he was being for both of their sake.

A tremor, worse than the last, with an even greater sound of implosion within the distance as if it was drawing nearer, let the family know that time was of the essence as Val quickly turned, ran to, and jumped into his pod. As a transparent shield took its place over the pods main viewport, he looked and beheld Kara running to and embracing their mother one last time. She then too jumped into her pod as his began to rise.

Looking into the eyes of his parents, a single hand touching the transparent shield, he silently spoke, "Good-bye Father, Mother."

Turning to the front, he felt the ship lurch forward, quickly shooting for the planets atmosphere, and into the blackness of space.

"Ship, patch me into Kara's pod." the young Kryptonian demanded, not bothering to look upon the ships computer systems, trusting in his parents capable, technical expertise.

 _"Acknowledged."_ came the ships robotic toned computer. _"Ship to ship communications, now available."_

"Kara, do you read me?"

 ** _"I read you, Val."_**

"We're going to make it, do you hear me? We will meet up with Kal, on Earth."

Though his twin did not respond, he could hear the sniffles from within the speakers.

"Kara,"

 ** _"Yes Val."_**

"I just want you to know, I love you."

 ** _"I-I love you t-too, Val."_**

"See you soon, sister." were his final words as the ships systems began to initiate its 'Stasis Program' in order to render both he and Kara unconscious. His eyes began to feel heavy. He could barely make out Kals ship as the FTL Drive kicked in, and Kals ship jumped into Hyperspace. Val would have fought the blackness that threatened to overtake his mind when the shock wave of Kryptons destruction acted as an EMP, thus damaging the pods computers, knocking the tiny vessel off course. But as it was, the need to sleep was too much, and before he could form a coherent word or thought, the gentle, yet firm embrace of darkness and silence took hold of his mind.

As Krypton exploded, the shock wave hit the pods in which the son and daughter of Zor-El and Alura inhabited, with great force. Both pods sheered off in separate directions. For Kara, her pod was dragged by the gravitational forces of and to the Phantom Zone, an Anomaly where time had no meaning, where only the worst of Kryptons Criminals were kept. A ship based prison was housed within the Anomaly known only as Fort Roz. It held the worst of the worse, including the twin sister of Alura and her husband.

The twins were clueless about the whereabouts of their beloved Aunt Astra, yet were indeed wary of her husband Non, as word had reached them via their friends of several things he had done that may or may not have caught the attention of the Kryptonian Law Enforcement Agency.

As for Val, his pod was thrown far enough away not to be affected by the pull of the Phantom Zone, and yet his ship was thrown even farther out into space. Before too long, within an undetermined amount of time, a rift in space opened, the forces within pulling at the depowered pod. Once through, the rift closed, the pod never to be discovered by outside influences that festered throughout the Galaxy.

While in another Universe, a similar rift opened kilometers from a solid, planetoid moons body. The pod tumbled through the darkened void as if being spat out. As it hurtled through space, past the moon, the gravitational pull of a blue planet took hold of the pod. Before long, the ship began its descent towards the planet.

The jarring that followed as the ship entered the planets Atmosphere, passing its Thermosphere, awakened the little robotic droid.

Shaking its head as if to clear its sensory nodes, its optic sensors quickly took notice right away that there was a problem. The machine known as Neel'ex right away, connected itself to the ships main computers, having to compensate its efforts from the tremors that were felt throughout the ship.

It noticed right away what the problem was. Taking control of the ship, lest the pod crash into the planet below's crust. Neel'ex managed to then halt the pod just kilometers from the solid ground of the Earth itself. Already the pod was heated from its entry through the atmosphere and Thermosphere, as the little droid could attest while initiating a systems check of the pod. After taking control, the droid then redirected the pods engine control, the ship hovering several hundred Kilometers for just a moment above the planets surface before it could crash, only to then shoot back into the sky, disappearing within the cloud coverage of the planet skies, where it remained cloaked from view. Noticing this, the little droid adjusted the pods course and kept the pod safely hidden within the said clouds coverage, moving at the same speed as the water air vapors so as to not be visually noticed by the Terrans.

The little droid then accessed the pods computers and learned of the slight damage within its systems, and began to correct this little problem, but before doing so, initiated the 'Awakening Procedure Protocols' in order to awaken the primary individual within.

Before too long Val-El began to come to. His head hurt slightly, his eyes blurry as he began to return to awareness. It took a moment for the remaining grogginess to fade away as he rubbed the back of his neck. Looking through the main viewport and seeing only the whiteness of the coverage outside, he turned to the side ports and noticed the same visual coverage as ahead of him.

"Ship, status report."

 _"Salutations, Val-El."_

"Neel'ex?" the young Kryptonian queried with a shocked _gasp_ of disbelief.

 _"That is correct, Val-El."_

"Neel'ex, what happened, where are we?"

 _"I am unable to answer the second question as I have yet to patch into the planets computer systems. As for the your first question, upon entering the planets gravitational field, I was reactivated early on when the ship was suddenly jarred upon entry into the planets atmosphere."_

"How did you take control of the pod?"

 _"Sensing the pods main systems were damaged, I was forced to make an executive decision since you were at then, unable to do so."_

With a _sigh_ of relief and appreciation for his fathers quick thinking in allowing the droid to accompany him on his journey, Val leaned back into his comfortable cockpit in thought before his thoughts then turned to other matters.

"Neel'ex, can you patch me through to Kara's ship?"

A few silent moments passed before the droid spoke, _"I am unable to comply."_

"What?" the boy said shooting up immediately. "Why not? Do I need to do a diagnostic systems check on you?"

 _"Negative."_

"Then why can't you patch me into Kara's pods communications systems?"

 _"I am unable to reach Young Karas vessel. I do not believe she exists or is upon the planets surface."_

"That's impossible. Neel'ex, do a complete systems check. Find out what ever you can that may help us solve this problem by tapping into the ships computer and sensor logs and find out what happened. If you need to, tap into the planets computer systems as well, but do so discreetly. We need to know where and when we are." Val said as he felt a sudden fear creep itself into his stomach. "While you're at it, see if you can find Kal-El's pod."

If not for the pods shielding, no doubt that the young Kryptonian would be experiencing the sudden changes his Father and Uncle Jor had revealed to him when he learned of where he and Kara were to go in order to watch over and protect Kal-El.

It was unknown how much time had passed when Neelix spoke again, _"Val-El?"_

"What is it, Neel'ex? What did you find?"

 _"I apologize, but as I was able to do a complete scan of the escape pods main systems, the computers logs indicated that upon Kryptons destruction, the shock wave disabled both of the ships systems. Final entry logs suggests that Young Karas pod as well as your own were knocked off course."_

"Off course? Wha...Where did Kara and I go?"

 _"I am saddened to say, that Kara may have been dragged into the Phantom Zone."_

"Th-The P-Phantom Zone. No, no...tha- Neel'ex, are you certain?" Val asked, not wanting to believe what he was hearing.

 _"Affirmative. I have checked and re-chhecked the sensor logs three times to be certain."_

"And us? Where are we? When are we?" he asked with despair and uncertainty in his mind.

 _"According to the ships logs, as we too were knocked off course, the last of the sensor systems, before going offline, noticed a rift off the ships bow that dragged the ship in and closed in on itself moments later."_

"A rift?"

 _"A tear in the very fabric of space and time. For all intents and purposes, we are on Earth, just not the Earth in which was our intended destination. As for the year, according to the current timeline, it is March 7_ _th_ _, of the Earth year 1994."_

Leaning back in his seat, a hand over the left side of his face, eyes widening at the sudden realization at what Neel'ex was telling him, "So, another Universe?"

 _"Precisely!"_ came the voice of the Kryptonian AI.

Eyes moving every which way in order to understand the far reaching consequence at the thought, young Val took a moment to take it all in. Kryptons destruction, the pain of loss, of his parents, sister, cousin, his Aunt and Uncle, the pain of being alone. Of being the only one of his kind on this new and unexplored world. It was then that he looked up, a determined glint in his eyes and quickly asked, "Neel'ex, Uncle Jor-El chose a family on Earth in which Kal-El was to be raised by, in the most likely event that Kara and I did not succeed in the mission. Tell me, is there such a family here on this Earth?"

The computer panels before him began to flash in various sequences as Neel'ex went to work, _"There are various records of families situated throughout this world by the name of Kent, but there is no known colony or 'Town' referenced under the name of Smallville, known in the State under the name of Kansas. But if I was to reference a family suitable for your needs, it most likely would not take long for me too search out a compatible human family."_

Nodding as he knew he had no known way of caring for himself should he remain alone. He was in a bad spot and he knew it. With no Kara, no Kal-El, he had only his robot and a Kryptonian crystal and some emergency rations that his father had informed him would be in both his and Karas pods storage compartments. He knew that he couldn't do this alone, even if he had his trusty droid, he would need help and stability and to do that, he would need to find aid in order to survive. "Do it!"

Once more, the pods panels glowed erratically for several moments before ceasing, _"I believe I have found a human couple with the same, if not, similar compatibilities as the Kent Family. Though it appears that the said couple seem to be incapable of having children of their own."_

"Oh? How so."

 _"The male among the couple received an injury during a tour of this worlds US Military Service. Having retired from active duty within the US Marines, Allen Kleyton and his wife of seven years, one Charlotte Kleyton-Childress have been looking to adopt a child for a little over a standard Earth year. Having studied the couple via all online information, including Medical Records, as well as current and past Satellite imaging, I can conclude that the Kleytons are as close to resembling the Kent family as one could possibly be."_

"Satellite?"

 _"It is one of the hubs currently existing above the planets atmosphere capable of viewing the stars beyond Earth, and aid in information retrieval. It was through this, in which I was able to gain access of information concerning the Kleytons, even if it was by all accounts, illegally attained. As you requested, this was done discreetly, so as not to be noticed by the worlds Government Agencies. This in turn enabled me to learn and understand as much as possible in order to assist you. These 'Satellites' possess enough information as well as aiding in Military and Civilian communications, that I was able to easily bypass their security and firewalls. Their technology is impressive, but no where near Kryptonian level standards."_

"That...That's good to know." Val said, shaking his head "What about the Kleytons' is similar to the Kent family and what is the language most spoken on the Continent below?"

 _"The Kleyton's are what is known as farmers, that is the growing and harvesting crops and raising various animal life. Ones whom specialize in Agriculture practices."_ he surmised, _"And the language in most parts of this world is mainly English."_

"A language I know enough of, thanks to the many study sessions with Uncle Jor." With a sigh of resignation, "Alright, let's do this. Where are the Kleytons now?"

 _"The Kleyton's are currently mobile. Their choice of residence is in a town called Hutchinson, in the state of Kansas."_

"What is the meaning or difference with the various states, cities, and towns?"

 _"That is something you will have to learn for yourself, should things go according to plan."_

"Yeah," he muttered in a low sarcastic tone, "a plan that I am just making up as I go along." Looking up, he could barely make out blue skies above that seemed to get darker as his eyes drifted beyond the stratosphere, 'Kara, Kal, I'm so sorry. Father, mother, Uncle Jor, Aunt Lara, please forgive me.' Closing his eyes, he focused on the images of his memories of his family from within his mind, of his sister and baby cousin. A few moments of silence passed as he lowered his head and silently prayed to Rao, begging him to welcome the spirits of his family into his Kingdom, and to watch over Kara and Kal. Coming to, he opened his eyes and sniffed once as he felt the side of his face. A lone tear had fallen from his left cheek. Noticing the wetness as he looked down into his hand, he curled his hand into a clenched fist, "Ok Neel'ex, adjust course. Get us to this place, this...Hutchinson."

 _"Acknowledged."_ came the droids response as the ship shot through the clouds. As the pod passed through the last bit of mist-like vapor that had made up the rather large cloud, Val looked up to a clear blue sky, and a yellow sun.

He smiled as he felt the suns warm, rays wash over him, granting him strength of which he had never felt before.

 **Hutchinson, Kansas**

 **Population 41,310**

 **Early Evening**

Allen Kleyton had just placed the last of the needed grain into the back of his truck. His wife Charlotte, was seen leaving a small Grocery store with two paper bags in her hands. She had a smile on her face, as on either side of her, were long time friends from her youth who were aiding her with grocery bags in their arms as well.

Allen could not begin to understand what they were speaking of as they were still several feet away on the intersecting road, headed towards the family vehicle.

It was as Charlotte had placed her bags into the back cab of the truck, that her two friends did so as well.

"It was good seeing you two."

"You as well dear."

"Take care Charlotte. Make sure to keep that husband of yours out of trouble now, you hear?" the woman said as she eyes him, sending him a sly wink, making him chuckle while blushing.

"I will Brenda." Charlotte replied. Hugging the woman known as Brenda, she then turned to the other woman, "We still on for that all girls night, Alice?"

"As if I'd miss that for the world." Alice replied with a humorous snort, pulling back after hugging her old friend.

"You girls take it easy." Charlotte said as both she and her husband both jumped into the truck. They pulled out and began the trek out of the small town after both women went their own separate ways.

"They seemed jovial, more so than usual." Allen said as they passed the last shop before driving onto the two way lane towards their home.

"They always have been." Charlotte agreed with a tired, yet happy _sigh_. She then looked out towards the bright, cloud filled skies as her mind began to drift off. For years now, she and her husband had been trying to find a way to bring a child into their lives, but with the money restraints and hard times, that was making their wants for a child to carry their name, rather impossible.

Allen, having been wounded after his third tour of duty, and having taken shrapnel from an RPG to his lower extremities and legs, now walked with a limp and was aided by a cane. Despite being wounded, his manhood worked just fine, but the damage was too extensive to his nether regions that it reduced any chances to bring a child into the world through natural means.

With a hand on the edge of the passenger side window with said window lowered completely, she thought of nothing more of what could have been.

Adoption was difficult as even farmers were falling on hard times in the current day and age. That, plus the money, time, and paper work just made things that much more difficult.

As he drove, Allen chanced a look at his wife. Seeing her deep in thought, let go of the stick shift in order to run his left hand behind her neck, gently massaging the soft skin beneath her long blond head of hair.

She leaned into his touch as she rather enjoyed the attention, especially when he knew she needed the comfort. She moaned with content as she turned to look at him with a warm smile, that he returned. It was then that she noticed an object within the skies past her husbands driver side as it made itself known to her. Eyes widening, she hollered her husbands name in a panicked tone, **_"ALLEN!?"_**

Allen Kleyton barely had a chance to react as he fought to control his vehicle when he quickly turned and looked upon what she saw. It was a small ship of an unknown make that had just flown overhead, the force of which caused the truck to spin out of control.

When the Kleytons came to, it was Charlotte who did so, noticing that her truck had overturned and landed on its head. She moaned in pain as her head hurt something fierce. Though upside down, she had enough strength to touch the right side of her head, noticing that she had a shallow cut. She hissed as she touced it, the cut stinging a bit.

"A-Allen." she barely got out.

"Ugh, Charl-Charlotte?"

"I'm here." she got out a bit wearily.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. The last thing that came to mind was some kind of ship coming at us, and then I just blacked out."

"Yeah, me too. The trucks totaled." Both of them were hanging upside down, thankful that they had followed the laws of the road and were buckled in.

Suddenly, the truck began to lift upward. As it began to tilt on its side a bit, Allen Kleyton thought a loud, "What the hell?"

Looking forward from behind the windshield of the truck, both Kleytons noticed a single, blue suited body with two small legs in the middle of the front end of the truck. With a single hand, the individual the hand belonged to, held the up turned hood closed while the other could not be seen.

Both were in even more shock when the truck was fully turned over, and the head of a boy in a blue toned two piece suit, rising as he set the truck back on it four wheels. The Kleytons were further shocked as the young man came around to the passenger side of the vehicle and ripped the door off.

Charlotte reeled back in fear when she saw the 'boy' run a hand through his hair, looking apologetic at having done so.

The boy then turned his head to gaze upon the woman and spoke in strained English, "A-Are...yo-u...al-alr-alright?"

As Charlotte nodded, the boy then said, "Ok!" before he fell to the side, losing the battle to remain conscious.

 _"Gasp."_ a young man rose with the rise of the sun. Slowly sitting up in the bed he had lain in, he leaned forward as he rubbed the back of his neck. He'd dream that same dream or memory, every anniversary since he came to this world. He then turned to the side of the bed and allowed his feet to touch the floor. It was cool to the touch as his feet adjusted to the temperature of the wood and the coolness it was giving off.

He ran his hands through his hair when he rose to his feet. Stretching his arms out wide, he welcomed the _'pops'_ and _'cracks'_ in his back and arms as he stumbled towards the adjoining bathroom next to his room.

Taking care of his manly duties, he turned on the water to wash his hands and face, and prepared to brush his teeth when a knock sounded at his bedroom door.

"In here." he called out.

A head popped inward as a middle aged woman with graying blond hair looked around and towards the bathroom. She entered the room completely, a warm smile on her face, "I'll never get how you are always the first one up." Charlotte Kleyton was wearing a warm cranberry red robe that was tied off at the waist.

Her son of almost 11 years was a blessing to her and her family. A child, having fallen from the stars, given to her and her husband. It had taken a few days to come to terms with the fact that they had been given a chance to live their dream, despite the fact that the child was an orphaned alien.

Allen, being a former Marine, and seeing that the boy was not of the Earth, even after his robotic companion had explained things to them, could not bring himself to give this child up. The boy had just lost a world, a home, family. He had nothing left, and it spoke to the hearts of the couple that this was their chance to make their dream a reality while protecting him from the Government.

The robot, designated Neel'ex, aided Allen in placing the Kryptonian pod in the barn of their home once they were able to retrieve it. Of course, Neel'ex had to pilot it back, and through the pods systems, was able to keep it off the radar of the US Military.

For over 10 years, the Kleytons slowly introduced Christopher Johnathan Kleyton to the world. With Neel'ex's help, they were able to manipulate and alter the Governments computer systems, giving Christopher a paper trail and a history.

Charlotte contacted one of her friends whom was a good Lawyer and brought her into the know. Alice Schofield became the honorary Godmother to Christopher and swore to keep his secrets. Through Alices aid, Chris was able to finally have an physical identity that even his robotic companion could not do for him.

It was a slow transition for the Kryptonian, but over time, he adjusted well. Made friends, had a love for human literature and even joined the school newspaper and science clubs.

After he turned 18, he joined the local Junior College and took several courses on Journalism until he earned his Masters Degree. When he wasn't at home and or at school, he spent time in the North where he was able to set up a base for himself.

The Master Crystal his father left he and Kara, was used to create his very own Fortress of Solitude. There, he was able to set up a place for his human parents as a retreat, and or a place to be used as a shelter. He then created two sets of very tall ice sculptures, one set being his parents, the other, of his Aunt and Uncle, each holding a section of a globe that represented Krypton. As a way of keeping his robotic friend safe, he flew him to the fortress where he remained to this day.

As for his powers, with Neel'ex's aid and some aid from his parents, both human and AI, he was able to learn to adapt, control, and hone his growing abilities.

Finally, it was time to see the world. He had been planning it for some time as the AI of Alura had implored him to learn just what the world held for him, to hone his craft and better himself as a Journalist.

Now in his home, his bags were already packed and sitting beside the bed as his mother leaned against the door of his bathroom.

He was brushing his teeth as he thought on how lucky he was to have found such good parents despite the way his life had played out. What he lost, he gained in ways he never thought possible. He'd thank Rao everyday for supporting him and blessing him, despite how much he missed his sister, his cousin, his biological parents, Uncle, Aunt, and even worse, Krypton.

"Wha'?" he asked half humorously, despite being half awake with his toothbrush in his mouth.

"Nothing, just gazing at my little boy, all grown up. A mothers prerogative."

Washing out his mouth and drying it with a towel, he smiled as he kissed her cheek.

"I don't want you to go." she mock cried, resting a hand on his hardened chest.

"I know, but I have to. I have to find where I fit in."

"You fit in just fine here."

"Of course I do, mom. This is home. But I have a calling, out there. I have to see what the world has to offer. I want to be the best journalist our family could be proud of."

"We're already proud of you, Chris." she said as she sat on his bed beside him. He half stepped into his pants and was already getting his sox on.

"I get that mom, I really do. But I want to get the name of Kleyton out there and see where it goes."

He stood up shortly after stepping into and lacing up his shoes. He was in the process of fixing his pants and getting his belt tightened around his waist, "We've only had you for so short a time, and already you're leaving us."

"I won't be gone long mom, just a few short years. I of course will always be here for the special occasions. After all, who makes the best Holiday meals in all of Hutchinson, Kansas?"

"Who makes the best meals, period? Flattery and compliments are just a few of the reasons why I love you so much."

"I thought it was because of my charming personality." he shot back with a cheeky smile.

"Well, Mr. Personality, hurry up. I'm making a big breakfast send off before your Aunt Alice comes to take you to the airport." she said as she got up from the bed and walked to the door. "Maybe if you hurry, you'll be able to take extra for a snack while on the flight."

"Yes mam." he replied as she closed the door. Ten minutes later, he was walking casually down the stairs with his two suit cases and a briefcase in hand. He had a total of three cases that he was taking with him, the first two filled with clothes and such, the briefcase being filled with some of his work and personal credentials, but was smaller than the suit cases because it contained his laptop inside with his credentials, personal resumes, and such.

"There he is."

"Hey dad." Chris said as he set his luggage down.

Getting up, the aged, former soldier turned farmer slowly got up to give his son a morning hug. Sitting down a few moments later with his son taking a seat opposite him and grabbing his hot cup of coffee, taking a generous sip, Allen Kleyton set it down as he asked, "So, ready to see the world?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. Thanks mom." Chris answered when he looked up and acknowledged the breakfast his adopted mother set before him. As he began to dig in, his father then asked, "you nervous?"

Swallowing what he had in his mouth, and clearing his airways with a sip of orange juice, Chris replied, "Sort of. It's going to be odd, you know. I haven't exactly spent a lot of time away from home except when I was at school, studying for my Masters Degree. This will be my first time actually seeing the world. Say, why don't you come with me?"

"We've been over this dear." his mother chided as she swallowed a bite of her breakfast and chased it down with a sip of the steaming hot brew.

"Besides, we're fine right where we are." Allen reiterated. "This is a journey you need to take by yourself. Will we be envious, even jealous that you will be able to see the world? Yes. But the farm won't take care of itself. Besides, we're too old for that sort of thing."

"Allen Christopher Kleyton, I am not too old." his wife rebuked. Seeing her husband wince at the full usage of his name, she continued as she smiled to herself, "I just happen to like where I am, and have no desire to go gallivanting all over the world like some 'Hippy'."

She smirked when Chris began to cough suddenly, only to start chuckling to himself. "So, do you have that suit and boots I and Alura designed and made for you?"

With a nod, he answered, "Yes mam. But I doubt I will need it."

"Remember what I told you, it's better to have it than not need it. And since you've mastered the art of disguise with wearing those glasses in the outside world, it's doubtful anyone will recognize you without them. Besides, after what we've learned regarding that woman, what was her name, Dear?"

"Captain Carol Danvers." her husband replied. "Her father is old fashioned, and an asshole. Thank God, she didn't turn out like that idiot. Hard to believe that, even with you being not of this world, let alone this universe, there is still life beyond our own little blue world if the stories I've heard from my old friends still in the Military tell me, regarding Captain Danvers is true. Let's just hope she doesn't turn out like her old man."

"Easy now, Allen. You above all else know how uneasy lies the head of a traditional Military family man." A new voice chimed in as Alice Schofield walked into the kitchen. "Good Morning Kleytons."

"Morning Alice." Charlotte responded as she rose from her chair and walked back to the high walled cabinet containing the cups, grabbing a coffee cup and pouring a generous amount of the hot dark liquid, before passing it to her long time friend who accepted it graciously, "Thanks. Mmmmm." she purred as she enjoyed how delicious the coffee tasted as if flowed over her tongue and down her throat. "Amazing as always, Charlotte."

"I do try."

"So, Christopher Dear. You ready to explore the world." she asked as she turned her attention to her Godson.

"I guess you can say that."

"How do you feel about going so far away? Nervous?"

"Terrified really."

"Well, I'm sure you can handle it, honey. After all, you're invulnerable and insanely strong."

"I guess." Chris muttered as he looked down. He didn't like the fact that even as a Kryptonian, he was more durable than a human being. His adopted family meant everything to him, which is why he created replicas of his parents and Aunts home back in his fortress, so should anything threaten his parents and adopted Godmother, all three would have a home to relocate to.

"It's ok, son." Allen said as Chris met his gaze, "You don't have to worry about us. After all, you gave each of us special mother box devices to get to the fortress, should the worst occur."

"I-I just don't want to lose you guys, not like I lost everyone else."

"Still having the nightmares about your homeworld and family, hon?" Alice asked worriedly. Seeing him nod, Alice, sitting closest to her adopted nephew and Godson, grabbed his hand in support, "Don't worry about us, Chris. You know that nothing will happen to us, we're tougher than we look."

There was a moment or two of silence as Chris looked at his family who nodded with warm supporting smiles on their faces.

Before long, breakfast was at an end, and it was to a tearful set of parents that Chris was embracing with as little of his normal strength as he held them, basking in their love for him. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"We'll miss you too, son." his father replied as he pulled himself and his wife away a step, holding Chris at an arms length.

"I don't want him to go." Charlotte cried as she huddled into her husbands side, tracks of tears falling down her face.

"I won't be gone forever, mom." Chris said emotionally. "Besides, at least I got some breakfast to go as a snack while aboard my flight." he raised the small red lunch sack that acted as a cooler for the food within. And if it wasn't for the fact that he had Heat Vision, she feared that the food would go rotten before he even got aboard the plane. "And you know, you can't keep me away when you make the best food in all of Hutchinson County."

"Ooohhhh," she cooed as she grabbed his face and kissed both of his cheeks before pulling him once more into her arms Feeling his arms wrap around her, she made sure to hold him just a little longer."

"Say cheese." a flash of light, and a small giggle from Alice revealed her lowering a cam as she had taken a picture of the three Kleytons as Father held son who held the mother.

Holding the camera up, she then said, "Going to have that picture developed and copied so that we can all have one to hold onto for memories sake."

As it was, Chris made sure to quickly load his luggage into his Aunts vehicle. After loading the luggage into the back of the vehicle, before he got in, he gazed upon his parents one more time as they stood on the porch, holding one another and smiling sadly as he was about to leave. "I'll call you from the airport."

Getting a nod from his parents, he took one last look at the house and farm, then his parents who he gave a single wave, receiving one in return, got in the car before he changed his mind and shut the door. A hand grasped his arm, causing him to gaze at the woman he called his Aunt, "They're going to be fine." she said softly. Getting a nod, she smiled warmly and started the car.

As the car pulled away, Chris used his enhanced Kryptonian vision to keep his parents in view as he gazed upon the passenger side mirror on the outside of the car. It wasn't until she took a turn heading into town that he relinquished his visual power and returned it to normal.

It was over thirty minutes later that they reached the airport. After checking in with the Counter Agents about his flight and making sure his luggage and lunch sack was secured with Security Personnel as well as making sure his two suit cases were secured with the right flight in which he would be a part of, he called his parents who were joyously happy to hear from him. After the phone call ended, he heard the call over the intercom for his flight to out of the country to Europe.

Turning to Alice, he breathed in a sigh, "Well, this is it."

"Yes yes it is." she said with finality.

"I'm going to miss you." he said as he leaned down to give her a hug.

Her arms wrapped around his neck since he was much taller than her, with her being 5'11 and he being 6'10. "I'm going to miss you too, honey." Releasing him, she stepped back as her hands remained on his buttoned jean jacket, looking up into his eyes, a single tear fell down her left cheek, eliciting a _sniffle_. "You remember to call your parents and I when you get there now, you hear?"

With a chuckle, he replied, "Yes mam." With only his briefcase in hand, he walked into the terminal towards his plane.

Once he was out of view, Alice went to a window that looked outwards as she looked at the plane that would take her boy away. She didn't know which window in which he would be seated near, but a hand lightly waving from a window near the middle of the plane, caught her attention. She looked and saw it was her Godson whose face appeared in the said window with a huge smile.

Alice smiled tearfully as she waved back, with him sending her a raspberry kiss that she pretended to catch and place against her heart. All too soon, the jet bridge began to pull away, followed by the plane as it began to back away from where the terminal resided. She followed it to the best of her abilities until she lost sight of his window. But by then, the plane began to pull onto the runway far out of her visual range. A few minutes later, the plane picked up speed, and began to take off. As the front of the plane lifted up, an somewhat unwelcome presence made itself known as it stepped up beside him.

"There he goes." The person was African-American, with one eye hidden behind a black patch, the signs of scarring above and under the patch. He was bald, wearing a dark black, two piece suit, the jacket closed with one button.

"Fury." she said a bit crisply.

"Agent Schofield." he replied back in a similar tone.

"My days as a SHIELD Agent are over."

"Correction. The day you came to me about him in order to help give him an identity with the promise to keep him off of SHIELD's radar, was the day you resumed active duty. The Kleytons have done a remarkable job in raising the boy into a positive member of society, which is why I am going to be keeping my eye on him."

"He's done nothing wrong." she snapped, turning fully to look at the Director of the U.S.'s head of SHIELD.

"Yet. He's done nothing wrong, yet. And I want to keep it that way. The kid is an asset, a valuable asset. And with the recent events surrounding Ms. Danvers, the world could use someone of his caliber."

"He's just a boy." she said.

"Who has become a man. A 'Superman', if the level of power you told me he possesses is anything to go by. Which is why when the time comes, I'll also want you to approach him with this."

Handing her a cream colored file with the SHIELD logo upon it, she saw that beneath the logo were the words 'Avengers Initiative'. Opening it, was all of Chris's personal information and what all that Nick Fury and SHIELD knew of him.

"I thought you swore that he wouldn't be in the system." she said as she looked up into his one good eye.

"He's not. Christopher Kleyton, also known as Val-El of Krypton, is only known to myself, Agent Coulson, and you. Because of how the Kleytons and you have brought him up, I have kept my organization in the dark about his existence, let alone the technology in his possession as well as the crystal fortress he just so happens to have in the Arctic, protected by technological defenses SHIELD could only dream of."

With a defeated sigh, she asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Me, I just want you to continue doing what you've been doing. So long as he has positive, moral individuals in his life to keep him on the straight and narrow path, I won't interfere. But, if something happens that draws him into the public's attention, I expect you to do the right thing and talk to him. That's all."

"Fine. But if we do this, we do this my way. You need to keep SHIELD off of my back." she said irritably, closing the file and pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Agreed." Fury replied as he turned and began to walk away. Pausing in his step, he turned back slightly, "And Schofield, remember, I'll be watching." he said pointedly as he turned back around and continued to walk away.

 **12 ½ pages of written material for a new Superman story arc with an OC character that was created and named in honor of the man murdered on the series 'Krypton', by his former friend, Daron-Vex. In this version, the Val-El, named in honor of his Great Grandfather, will be the Superman of the Marvel MCU. He'll live by a similar code as Kal-El, but will have a bit more of his Aunts personality in the mix as I may or may not bring Astra into the story, which I leave up to you. Also, let me know what pairing you think may be appropriate because I may or may not also bring in the Faora-Ul from the DCEU. You decide. Let me know what you think, and I'll keep on writing more as much as my fingers will type. Until next time.**


	2. Chapter 2 A Man of Steel Flies

**Superman: Birth of a Hero**

 **Ch. 2 A Man of Steel Flies**

 **I do not own The Avengers or Supergirl**

 **Marvel Studios and D.C. Comics do.**

 **Positive reviews are welcome**

 **Ch. 2 A Man of Steel Flies**

 **Nov. 7th, 2008**

 **New York City, New York**

 **39th Street and 2nd Ave.**

 **Daily Bugle**

 _'Ding'_

An elevator door within the Main Floor of the Daily Bugle, many a reporter stepped out to engage upon their chosen fields of journalism, some venturing to their desks, others to meet with their colleagues to discuss events and or people.

A single person in a long brown coat stepped out with a briefcase in hand, his eyes searching about for someone to speak to in order to find the man he'd sent an email to recently and was rewarded with an invite to speak to this day.

Walking into the bullpen of the floor, so to speak, he constantly ran into other reporters by accident due to the floor being so crowded. He'd apologize of course each time, but it still didn't help the fact that he could not avoid bumping into them.

"Excuse me. Sorry. Pardon me. I'm so sorry." From a third person stand point, such a scene would prove to be comical as the individual tried desperately to avoid the many people scattered throughout the floor.

Seeing what may be an important person, Christopher Johnathan Kleyton walked up behind a tall, African American individual wearing a blue, long sleeved shirt with a gray vest and gray khakis with nice black shoes. The shirts sleeves were rolled up to just an inch under the elbows. With a controlled light tapping on the aging mans (if the graying sideburns weren't a dead enough giveaway) right shoulder, pressing the glasses further upon his face to straighten them, Chris nervously waited as the man noticed he was touched on the said shoulder and turned around slowly and gazed upon the one initiating the physical contact.

"Yes, can I help you?" the man asked.

"Huh, oh yeah, hi. Um, I'm Chris. Chris Kleyton." Chris answered as he held a hand out. When the man raised an eye up without expressing any emotion while taking Chris's hand, Chris continued, "I uh, was wondering if you could tell me where I might find a Mr..." Placing his briefcase down and reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a slip of paper and reading it, "...Mr. Robbie Robertson?"

"Kleyton? As in the traveling journalist who journeyed all over Europe writing all of those amazing pieces and stories." Robertson said as he then released the hand that was offered.

"Yeah, I mean, yes sir, that's me, heh." Chris chuckled nervously.

"I've read all of your work. Impressive and insightful. I'm Robertson. Now I remember, you're supposed to be the new guy, hired after our last Foreign Correspondence writer passed away."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"It's ok. He lived a long exciting life. It was his time. Right this way, let me show you where you'll be working."

"I thought I was going to be speaking with Mr. Jameson and you for an assessment." Chris said as he picked his briefcase back up and followed the man.

"These days, Jonah's too busy to see to newbies, which is why I'm the Co-Editor in Chief, I handle all of the new stringers. At the moment, Jonah's more interested in his prized pupil, Star Reporter of the Bugil."

"That would be Sally Floyd, right?"

"You know your stuff."

"Actually, I find Ms. Floyd's ideas and her writing rather fascinating. I hear she's usually on the front lines when it comes to Anti-Government and Civil Liberties movements."

"Yeah well, today she's on the piece regarding the Transcontinental Flight courtesy of Hammer Industries."

"The one regarding the space shuttle on top of the Boeing 777?"

"That's right. You don't miss much, do you?" Robertson asked with a raised eye.

"Well uh, I do try to keep on top of things." Chris said a bit sheepishly, pushing his glasses further up.

"Anyway, this is your work space." Robertson said as he revealed a somewhat cluttered desk that the Co-Editor cleared away as he gathered up the papers into his arms. It was then Chris noticed the desk was interconnected from the front with another desk.

"You'll be working alongside your new partner when she gets back from her recent assignment."

As he began walking away, Chris quickly spun around, "P-P-Partner sir?"

"That's right. Congratulations Kleyton, you're now Sally Floyd's new partner.

"Uhh..." Chris was too shocked to form a coherent sentence.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you two will get along just fine." Robertson said as he smirked and walked away, leaving Chris to fall into his new chair, dazed with the recent revelation of to whom he would be working with. Placing his briefcase on the desk, he sat at the desk unable to figure out his next course of action. For a moment or two, he sat there, lightly tapping the said briefcase when he opened it and pulled out a gold laminated picture frame containing a photo of him with his parents and Aunt.

Placing it on the desk, he then pulled out a wood based name plate with his name on it and laid it on the front end of his desk, facing in.

'Come on, Chris. You're a Reporter now. Think. What would a reporter being doing right about now?' he thought to himself. "I need a drink."

Fifteen minutes later found Chris in the city, passing several bars and pubs that were not to his liking when he found one that seemed to peek his interest. Looking up at the sign, he read **'The Ginger Man'**. 'Sounds promising.' he thought to himself as he grasped the handle and walked in.

The place was packed as he walked in. It had all of the makings of a fine establishment with the traditional beers, wines, and other alcoholic beverages lining the wall behind the bar. There were wooden casks and green tablets with various depictions of the 'Ginger Man Ale' character, hanging on the walls as well. Thankfully, there was a spot at the counter that was open as he sat down.

One of the bartenders, a young woman with pulled back brown hair and hazel eyes walked up to him with a smile. "Never seen you before, what can I get ya'?"

"Oh uh, I'll have a Samuel Smith please."

"Would you like a mug with that?"

"Just the bottle, thanks."

"Coming up." she replied as she walked away for a moment and coming back with a brown bottle labeled **'Pale Ale'** written on a ribbon font with the name **'Samuel Smith Old Brewery'** spelled in old English.

Placing the ale on a napkin, the girl asked, "Is there anything else I can get for you?"

"Not at the moment, thanks." Chris answered as he smiled warmly at the girl who then nodded with a warm smile of her own and went back to her work. Chris raised the Ale bottle when he noticed a set of numbers on the napkin and quickly deduced that it was a cell number. There was a wet ring from the cold bottle around the inked number. Chris picked up the napkin and looked at it for a moment before looking at the girl who was speaking with some of what appeared to be her fellow bartenders and friends who were mostly girls. All of whom were looking his way and giggling like little school girls.

Smiling to himself, Chris made a show of pocketing the number in his vest pocket since he left his coat and suit jacket back at the Bugle. This made the girls eyes widen in shock, some squealing and jumping up and down in amazement when the television off to the side blared out an Emergency Report.

 _"We're coming to you Live from the Kennedy National Space Center. It would appear that the magnetic Dual Coupling Separation System has experienced a malfunction on the Orbital Space Shuttle, Discovery. There has been reports that attempts to manually override the couplings separation system, has failed."_

Chris tuned out the rest of the report as he turned away from the television with a frown. Seeing that there was nothing anyone could do as the only hero available was off planet and there was no one else, he looked once more to the television and got up from his seat, the beer forgotten.

Exiting the Bar, he noticed that everyones attention was focused on various television screens all over the area. Even drivers in their own vehicles stopped to watch the news coverage regarding the recent report. This was a good distraction for him as he ran through and around several vehicles as traffic was backed up due to busy streets and found an unoccupied alley. Running down the said alley, he ripped open his shirt, revealing a red **'S'** in a yellow and red diamond format with a blue suit underneath.

In just a second, he was devoid of his human clothes and was now in the suit designed and made by his mothers, and launched himself into the sky. The air burning in his wake as he ascended into the air faster than any flying machine known to man. As he sped up, there were more than one **'Sonic Boom's'** in the air as he accelerated his flight.

 **In the meanwhile**

Sally Floyd was agitated as the spokesperson for the project courtesy of Hammer Industries and NASA, could not and or would not answer her questions out right when asked. The blond 'Bimbo' as far as she was concerned, was an idiot who would rather hear herself talk more than anything else.

Then suddenly, there was the plane lurching forward with a loud explosion from above the said plane. The Spokesperson was thrown forward with the plane shaking uncontrollably. The force of the sudden lurch and acceleration of the plane, was making it hard for the woman to get to a seat.

Immediately, the air bags with the yellow cups fell from the ceiling directly above the seated passengers, who quickly grabbed them and slipped them on over their faces

Now getting worried for her life and the lives of everyone aboard the plane and a bit pissed off at the newest screw-up of Hammer Industries, Sally unbuckled herself from her seat and proceeded to help the struggling woman who was by then going into shock and could not move very much as she was barely able to get herself together and form a coherent word.

"Can I get a little help here?" Sally cried out as she attempted to help the scared woman into a seat.

Another reporter removed his breathing apparatus and quickly helped the woman to a seat with Sally making sure she was buckled in. Because his seat was close by, the unknown reporter was quickly able to get back to his seat. As for Sally, another **'Boom'** sounded, causing the Boeing 777 to accelerate yet again, sweeping Sally off of her feet, causing her to face plant on the floor. With the air knocked out of her, she struggled to get enough momentum to at least rise to her hands and knees.

The plane tilted upward, as Sally was forced to grab onto the metal rods beneath the seats, and struggled to pull herself upward towards her own seat. She was unsure how much time had passed, but once again, there was another **'Boom'**.

By then, she had just managed to reach her seat and just as she managed to rise to her feet with great effort, she was thrown up and over the heads of the seated passengers and tossed to the back of the compartment, wherein she collided with a wall, stunning her and nearly robbing her of her breath.

She could not move as the plane shuddered and was flying faster than it was designed for, sticking her to the wall due to the G-Forces currently keeping her in place. Her vision was a bit blurry, and yet she was barely able reach for a breathing apparatus when she felt the need to turn her head towards a window close to her where the light of the sun filled skies shined bright. Not knowing if her eyes were deceiving her, but Sally could have sworn that a red and blue blur flew passed the said window at incredible speed.

A set of footfalls from above confirmed that in some way or another, a savior had arrived. Her eyes rose as she looked up the moment her ears had picked up the sound of feet hitting the roof of the Boeing 777.

 **At the same time**

Chris had managed to track the plane using both his enhanced hearing and visual abilities as he found the plane not long after leaving New York airspace, now flying just over Washington DC. The Space Shuttles Insertion Boosters had already ignited, inflaming the back fin of the plane, while dragging both the shuttle and the plane upward towards space. Kicking his flight speed up a notch, he flew passed the fighter jet escorts in which his enhanced hearing was able to pick up, revealing that both they and now NASA knew of his existence as the fighter escorts confirmed with NASA that not only did they have him on radar, but the pilots now had clear visual confirmation of him as well. He soon flew past the planes right side and came just under the shuttle.

Due to how close in proximity the shuttles undercarriage and Boeings roof were, he was forced to bend forward a bit. With a proper foothold on the roof of the Boeing 777, he grabbed the undercarriage of the shuttle with both hands, and focused his heat vision on the magnetic couplings tying the shuttle to the plane. Chris used said heat vision on the coupling to his left, then the one before him, before doing the same to the last coupling on his right.

All three quickly released upon the heat assisting in the releasing of the couplings, melting away the bolts that were the cause of the malfunction.

Then with a bit of his strength, he pushed up and forward, guiding the shuttle into the heavens, all the while, maintaining a two handed grip on the shuttles undercarriage. The couplings began to retract into the shuttle as he flew, keeping with the shuttle until he was sure that the Discovery's Boosters were able to handle the rest of the trip into space on its own. Releasing it, and watching it fly forward, his eyes flashed blue as he checked the shuttles passengers in order to ensure they were alright.

His sight peeled back the outer and inner layers of the shuttle as he was able to look in on the shuttles crew and breathing a sigh of relief in knowing that the Discovery and its people were safe. Turning his attention to Boeing beneath him, he noticed that the plane was spinning uncontrollably in the air above Washington DC. Without hesitation, he redirected his path and shot down towards the falling plane.

Flying through a smoke trail courtesy of the burning tail end of the plane, he wasted no time in assessing the situation and realizing what he had to do. Flying over the plane and grabbing the end of the right wing slat, he pulled back in the hopes of steadying the planes trajectory.

His idea had merit, but before too long, he realized that with the rate of speed in which the plane was falling, the force of the gravity and his immense strength was only making things worse. He attempted to lesson the amount of power he was using to hold the wings slat, but it was for naught.

The entire wing tore itself from the plane, engine included, causing Chris to lose his grip of the wing and stumble back in the air. Righting himself a moment later and coming to a complete stop, he looked back and noticed that the wing and engine flew off into two separate directions, metallic debris falling from both, but he didn't have time to worry about that as he returned his attention to the burning Boeing. He blasted downward once more, not caring how fast he had to go as he kept his eyes on the plane.

The left wing and engine suddenly exploded off and away from the now free falling plane as he began to close in on it, causing him to plow through the wing in order to resume his attempts at saving the plane and her cargo. He didn't dare look back at what he had done as by now he had reached the plane, despite the fact that the wing exploded in a glorious ball of fire and metal when he smashed his way through it.

Said plane was now spinning downward like a bullet towards the Earth. He desperately flew around it, swerving around both burning wing stubs on either side of the damaged plane, moving faster until he reached its nose, just below the pilots frontal view.

He _'grunted'_ as he collided with the tip of it, trying to push it back upwards, despite being pressed against it from the gravity and weight of the plane pushing it further down. His hearing then picked up the noise of many a people and the familiar sound of a baseball being struck by a bat.

'Oh great, a Baseball game is going on below me. Gotta make this quick, don't want the passengers inside nor the people down below getting hurt or worse.' he thought to himself.

With a great deal of effort he pushed back against the plane after getting a good grip on the planes nose. Despite the side of his face touching the said nose of the falling craft, he growled and pushed his strength even further. The nose bent inward a bit due to his Kryptonian strength as the plane finally began to slow its descent thanks to his efforts.

As the plane slowed, a ripple was sent throughout the outer shell of the plane. He kept adding more power to his grip and strength as the plane then stopped falling a second later. Chris had to readjust his grip as he then went about laying it down on its undercarriage as slowly and as gently as he possibly could. It took a few moments, but he was able to breathe a _'sigh'_ of relief once the plane was safely on the ground, no doubt the people within were jarred by the effort he made from bringing the plane down as he did.

He only hoped that as he set it down, that whoever were on the diamond field, were able to get to safety. There was a loud cheer from the crowd of Baseball fans and others when he flew around the wingless plane towards the plug door.

 **Sally Floyds POV**

Sally settled back in her seat after the jarring effect of the plane being lowered, or so she thought. She couldn't be farther from the truth.

She remembered vividly as whoever or however the plane became separated from the Shuttle Discovery, left her floating in the air behind the others for just a few short moments. A pen was slowly drifting towards her when gravity took effect once more.

She lost track of time. The events being a blur as she was thrown to the right of the plane and then around in the the rear of the fuselage, directly above the other passengers. As it dropped, she was then stuck to the sealing, directly above the reporter who aided her moments before. She mentally pleaded for her life, as the man beneath her had an expression that said he didn't know what to do. Her expression of need didn't help any when something forced the plane to slow its descent somewhat, allowing her to drop on top of the guy. 'Thanks a lot, asshole.' she mentally thought to herself.

Spotting her seat adjacent to where she was, she scrambled off of the dimwit and quickly returned to her seat. She fought to get her seat belt to snap together, and eventually succeeded after a short battle with the shaking of the plane causing the belt and buckle in her hands to fidget until they connected.

Suddenly, as if falling while in an airplane wasn't enough, the passengers belongings started flying out of the compartments directly overhead of those who thought to bring aboard carry-on luggage.

The plane tipped to the left with a strong shake of the plane, and then moments later, began spinning uncontrollably. Her life as she knew began to flash before her very eyes when she then noticed that the plane, leaning forward, began to slow in midair. The seats shot forward slightly, causing the passengers to smash into the seats ahead of them.

It then began to level out when she felt the plane touch down, once more jarring her and everyone else while in their seats. There was a loud **_'shoom'_** as the plane met Earth. Everyone that had a breathing apparatus over their faces, began to pull them off when the plug door was ripped off of its hinges.

A man in a blue suit, red boots, with a long red cape, and an huge red 'S' in a red diamond format with a dull yellow tone walked in. He was a somewhat huge man, most likely standing at 6'2, maybe 6'3, with the physical stature of around 225 solid muscle. He had short dirty blond hair and hazel eyes, with a split curl at the front. The cape looked to be attached to a red pair of very thin shoulder pads with gold clips at the forefront of the pads, 'No doubt to hold the cape in place'. She thought to herself.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked with a hint of worry in his tone.

Upon seeing this man, everyone was left speechless as they gazed upon him for the first time. This man had the form of an Adonis. So much so, that even Sally was mentally drooling. ' .God!'

She didn't know why she did it, but for reasons she could not even imagine, began to unconsciously rise from her seat, having removed the belt when the plane touched down. His eyes turned towards her as she looked him in the eyes, 'He's looking at me. He's really looking at me.'

"You ok?"

Even the shrug she unconsciously gave him made him smile warmly, making her go weak in the knees.

He then turned his attention to everyone else who had looked at the visual bi-play between her and him, when he spoke once again, "Well, I hope this experience hasn't put any of you off flying. Statistically speaking, it's still the safest way to travel." The last bit he spoke, he said as he turned once again to look her in the eyes, his smile and slight show of his white teeth, causing her and every other woman to swoon as they nodded in dumb shock.

The man who had saved all of their lives, gave a small wave before he then turned and began heading towards the same opening he walked in through a moment before. Everyone inside was scrambling to get out of their seats to approach him when he stopped and gathered that his image was now on the Baseball fields Titantron. Everyone all over the U.S. and possibly the world, now saw him. There were many a clap and a cheer, with whistles and shouts hurtled his way. The Evacuation Slide was out, having inflated automatically when he ripped the door from its hinges just before he walked into the plane.

 **Chris's POV**

He felt a level of elation at having saved everyone aboard the plane and then being cheered for his actions. Everyone within the baseball stadium that he knew to be the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, praised his actions. He was afraid the people would fear and reject him, and yet, here they were, thanking him in the only way they knew how, with gratitude. With a deep breath, he raised his head and his right arm upward. With a slightly bent knee, he kicked off into the air, wherein he then passed over the Stadium, flying over an entire crowd of baseball fans before disappearing from view.

He didn't notice the woman that was to be his partner, fainting and sliding down the Evacuation Slide a few seconds after he lifted off and disappeared. It would have been one hell of a comical scene to see, but he had somewhere he had to be as he resumed flying high into the sky.

 **Normal POV**

 **The next day**

 **Daily Bugle**

"Alright people, listen up. I want to know it all, everything." The loud, obnoxious voice of the Editor in Chief of the Daily Bugle shouted as he slammed a paper down upon his desk, a fist slamming on the image of the man who single-handedly saved not just the Space Shuttle Discovery, but everyone on board the Boeing 777, despite the loss of its wing. The room of the Publisher of the Daily Bugle was packed with many a worker whom had various different fields of their own within the Bugle.

"Cooper." he shouted, "I want photos of him, and I want them yesterday."

The photographer known as Cole Cooper, jumped as his name was called, nodding as he was being issued a direct order, gulping somewhat in fear of the man whom was his boss and would fire him at a moments notice, which was a norm at the Bugle as Jonah hired and fired, and then rehired again, only to repeat every time.

"Sports, how are they going to get that plane out of the stadium, and why couldn't he have done it himself?" he said as he looked towards the Sports Columnist who nodded as they began to already write out their questions on a pad. "He could save all of those people from an incident he most likely caused himself, and yet he couldn't remove the plane and let the people get back to their game."

Chris narrowed his eyes at the man from behind his glasses, not liking the insinuations being directed at him. Having returned home earlier the day before after his heroics, to his apartment that he paid six months worth of rent ahead of time before moving in, after removing his cape, he got a call from his parents in which he spoke to for well over an hour. He didn't realize that his Aunt also wanted to talk to him as she had called several times while he was still on the phone with his parents, letting them know he was alright and he explained to all three how he felt in doing what he had done and the feeling of joy in having saved all of those lives in both the plane and the Space Shuttle.

A _'scoff'_ was heard, causing everyone to freeze and look upon the person responsible for the interruption. Sally Floyd looked at her boss with an _'Are you kidding me?'_ expression.

"Something you'd like to add, Floyd?" Jameson barked.

"Yeah actually, I do. If it wasn't for that man, I and everyone of those people on that plane, including the pilots, would be dead. No, the blame for the the entire mishap lies solely at Justin Hammers feet. And you're worried about some stupid game while lives were on the line?" she spat. "Because of him not double checking and or even testing those Magnetic clamp contraptions connecting the Discovery to the 777, a lot of lives are pretty shaken up. Once again, Justin Hammer showed truly how incompetent he really is when NASA should have negotiated its contracts with Stark."

"Watch yourself, Floyd." Jameson growled.

"Or what, you'll fire me? You forget, I got a few years left on my contract with the Daily Bugle. You so much as think of firing me, I'll have you neck deep in court filings, that you'll practically be swimming in debt."

"Um, Mr. Jameson sir." Chris spoke up, raising a hand with a pencil in it.

"Who the hell are you?" Jameson demanded, snapping his now red hued face in Chris's direction.

"That's Sally's new partner, our new stringer, Chris Kleyton." Robbie answered as he leaned back in his seat.

"What?!" Sally yelped as she looked from the new guy, to Robertson, the Editor In-Chief.

"Kleyton...Kleyton. Isn't he supposed to be the foreign correspondence guy that wrote all of those fancy foreign pieces while in Europe?" J.J. snapped at his friend.

"Partner?" Sally repeated despondently.

"Sorry, sir. But Ms. Floyd is right."

Everyone looked pretty interested as Jameson gave an inquisitive expression. "Oh, how so, Klarence."

"Actually sir, it's Kleyton." Chris corrected.

"That's what I said."

With a worn and weary _sigh_ , the former travelling reporter continued, "I was able to make it to the scene on time and once I managed to speak to several of the personnel who were on board the plane, I left and discreetly managed to get a hold of a contact of mine." Pulling out a file that was in his leather bound carrying case, he placed it on the table and slid the file to the head of the Bugle.

Jameson snatched the file that slid before him an picked it up. Opening it, his eyes widened as his newest reporter had done his homework and gotten the goods on Justin Hammer.

What he, nor anyone else knew, was that Chris, upon reaching the shuttle and plane, noticed the problem with the release clamps right away. He had a feeling that needing checking on, so when he left the stadium after saving the plane, he quickly flew to Hammer Industries. Upon arrival, he noticed it bare, and smashed his way into Justin Hammers main office. He found the plans for the shuttle clamps easy enough as well as some other important information that J. Jonah Jameson was now looking at.

"Robbie," he snapped, "get this to print, page one. Title it, **'Hammer Hammered. Corporate Espionage, or victim of sabotage!'**

"Victim of Sabotage?" Sally shouted, getting to her feet as she then snatched the file from Jamesons hand and began looking at the proof her alleged new partner had just revealed.

"Floyd?" Jameson hollered.

"You idiot." she shouted even louder. "I was there, as were plenty of others. This file contains the evidence and more that can be used against Hammer, and you're just going to claim he was a victim of sabotage?"

"You watch your tone, young lady. You may still have a few years on your contract, but I can still make your life a living nightmare with all of the lesser events I can find while giving the bigger stuff to others. I am your boss after all."

"That's not fair Jonah. She's made a valid point. If this information was to get out, it could discredit and destroy Hammer." Robertson warned.

"It's not that easy." the Publisher said as he sat down with a tired release of breath. "However our Mr..."

"Kleyton." Chris reminded him.

"Right, Kleyton. However he got this information, Hammers got friends. Very high up friends within the Government. Even if you were to use it against Justin Hammer, the most he would get is a slap on the hand, several contract losses, and that's it. Trust me, Hammer's not someone you want to cross."

With a hand on his head, he then dropped it and looked at his star pupil, "I'm worried about if this gets out. Hammers a powerful individual, despite Stark being a better Conglomerate than him. But the fact of the matter is, that we'd need something even more criminalizing against Justin Hammer before releasing all of this information to the public. No hard feelings Sally, you're good. But Hammer has deeper pockets than you realize."

The star reporter sat with a _'huff'_ before sliding the file back to her boss who caught it in his hands. Taking some of the files contents in hand that he personally chose, he handed it off to his 'Co Editor In-Chief'. "Make sure that that hits front page, Robbie."

"What about our 'Flying Man, Jonah?" he asked.

"You know what, scratch that, make it page two."

"Why page two?" Floyd asked from where she sat.

"Because we need to thank whoever our flying circus clown is, what with the suit and all. We need to give him a name."

"How about 'Superman'?" Robbie asked.

Jonah snorted and began to laugh before seeing that his longtime friend wasn't laughing, "You're serious?"

"I think it's a good name." Sally admitted, with some of the other news staff mumbling their agreement.

"Don't you think that the name 'Superman' makes him sound a little, you know...arrogant?" Chris asked from where he stood.

"The man deserves it. After all, he saved everyone aboard the Discovery and the Boeing." Robertson replied.

"Fine it's settled. **'Superman: Hero or Con Artist!?'** Make that our page one headline.

"He's not a Con Artist, Jonah." Robertson said with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

"You may be the Co-Editor, Robertson, but I'm still the boss. Now get to it." Looking at everyone still sitting and or standing where they remained within his office, he then hollered, "What are you idiots standing around for. I don't pay you to lazy about. Get to it."

As his number one reporter stormed out before anyone could exit, Chris couldn't help but look at the man who would be signing his pay checks for the foreseeable future with a bit of sadness. He'd heard J. Jonah Jameson was a rough person to put up with, but the man was once a good reporter. Chris had wanted to give the man the benefit of the doubt, but seeing and paying attention to the man, even now, he began to feel regret on even thinking that working for the Bugle was a good idea.

Leaving the mans office, he walked over to his desk, seeing that his 'Partner' had found a note that had been placed in an envelope with her name on it. It was the one in which he had left for her when Jameson had called a meeting about his newborn persona.

"M-Ms. Floyd." he called as he stood with her back to him, reading his letter. "Ms. Floyd." he said again.

She jumped as he said her name again, "Oh, it's you." she said sourly. "I suppose you think that you can just walk in and expect me to welcome you to the Bugle?"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Floyd. It wasn't my intention to be your partner. I too felt a little shocked wen I learned about this...partnership between us." he got out.

"Partnership." she snarked as she got in his personal space and looked up into his face and sneered. "Let's get one thing straight here, "Kley..."

"Actually, it's Kleyton." he corrected her.

"Whatever. You get in my way, I'll drop you like a piece of dog shit. Do we have an agreement?"

"Uuhhh, yes." he replied a bit worriedly. 'Wow, what a hardcase. I think I'm starting to actually like her.'

"I'm going out for a smoke." she said as she quickly turned away, gathered her possessions, and left her desk. He watched her as she walked away. His eyes did not stray as he watched walk through a set of glass doors and when she walked around a corner, his enhanced vision peeled through the walls, once more focusing on the woman that was to be his partner.

The entire time, he smiled as she paused before a set of closed, elevator doors. His hearing picked up her heartbeat as well as a bit of mumbling, even as she was waiting for the elevator to reach her. Finally, the elevator arrived with a _'ding'_. When they opened, he looked into and saw that she was alone when she walked into it, hitting a button beside the doors, and the doors closing.

He turned his head towards Jamesons office, and saw that he was smoking a cigar and looking upon the file and the information it contained regarding some of the corrupt dealings that Hammer Industries was a part of.

Seeing that he was not being watched, he grabbed a hold of his tie and quickly, yet discreetly, walked out of view.

 **Atop of the Bugle**

As she walked out of the doors leading to the outside of the Bugles roof, Sally Floyd walked over to a balcony where she then laid her satchel or purse down, and pulled out a pack of Mynthol Cools. Smacking the pack in her empty palm, a lone cigarette slid out. Placing it between her lips, she extracted a plastic green, see through lighter and placed it before the cigarette. Holding it with both hands while blocking the flame from the breeze above, she tried to light the thing. Only, the flame went out. She tried this several more times, even going so far as to shake the lighter before trying again when a voice made her jump in fright, "You know, you really shouldn't smoke, Ms. Floyd."

Turning to her left, she shockingly gazed upon the man who now occupied her mind as he did the day before, causing her to feint for the first time in her life. And the thing was, she never feinted.

"..." Was her reply as her eyes widened, causing him to chuckle. He was standing on a raised air vent with his arms crossed. Taking heart to her poor shocked state, he lowered his arms as he then floated down from the said air vents and softly lowered himself until he stood several feet before her.

"Sorry, didn't really mean to startle you."

"Heh, no need to apologize. I mean, it's not like you meant to do it on purpose." she said a bit sheepishly.

"I know that there a lot of people who are asking questions about me. And I feel as if it's only right that I answer those people."

"Soo, you're here for an interview."

He shrugged a bit with a small thin smile, showing that that's exactly what he was there for.

"Right." she said as she hastily began digging through her purse, while having dropped the cigarette and forgotten it, "Shit." she murmured, "Where did I put that tape recorder."

"Your right pocket."

She paused as she looked at him with an open mouth, "Did you just...You can see through objects?"

It was his turn to look a bit sheepish as he lowered his head to look at the ground, trying to not blush.

She saw the warring of his emotions as he fought to keep from blushing, making her realize that with his ability to see through solid objects, there was a chance for him to see through her clothes. "I hope that you haven't used those Super Peepers of yours to see through my clothes." she said as she crossed her arms before her chest.

"N-No mam. I wouldn't dare."

She had the fortune to smile smugly as he finally lost the battle to blush as his face reddened.

Taking the tape recorder from her pocket, she held it out before him with her left hand, "So, let's start with the first question. Who are you?"

"My name is Val-El, of Krypton."

"Cripton, with a C-R-I..."

"Actually, it's Krypton, with a K-R-Y." he corrected her.

"Oh, I see. And why are you here?" she then asked.

"To help."

"Help?!"

"Well, yes."

"Why?"

"Because it's the right thing to do."

"But, how did you get here? Why Earth? Why not another planet?"

"I didn't have a choice in the matter."

"What do you mean?"

"My world is gone. I am all that remains of my people."

"And the 'S'?"

"Actually, it's not an 'S'. It's my family's shield. The Crest of the House of El. It stand for Hope."

"Well, here, it's an 'S'." she said, smiling a bit. "How did you lose your home?"

For over an hour, he explained the intricacies of his homeworld. The culture, the Kryptonian way of life. He then spoke of his family and what they had done to ensure his, his twin sisters, and baby cousins survival, even unto the point when he awoke and learned of what happened to not just himself, but his sister as well.

"So, you were born in a Parallel Universe?"

"Yes."

"And you were meant to protect your baby cousin...Kal-El, and your twin sister Kara?"

"Technically, for the women of the Kryptonian culture, she would take on the name of our father until she was married, so until then, she would be called Kara Zor-El."

"Right, and you were supposed to go to the Earth of your universe, until your world exploded and the ripple effect sent both you and your sister in two separate directions. Kara to a wormhole that was used as a place where only the criminals of your world were imprisoned, and you were sent through a tear in the space-time, and sent to our Universe, and to this Earth?"

"That's right."

"And how long ago was this?"

He shook a finger at her, shaking his head while smiling warmly.

Understanding quickly taking hold, she said, "Right, don't want to cause any problems for whoever took you in."

He nodded.

"Ok then, what can you tell me about yourself, beside the Super Strength, flying, and super Vision?"

"Actually, it's called X-Ray Vision. I can see through the various visual spectrums."

"How fast can you fly?"

"Well, I never really timed myself. But I'm pretty certain, I can out fly anyone and anything."

Her eyes widened at that, "Get outta town."

"No, I really mean it. Say, would you like to come with me?"

"M-Me. Fly with you?"

"I'll be handling most of the flying."

She turned around, putting her back to him, thinking how awesome it would be to fly with him. Especially as it was just now shifting into the afternoon where the sun was just beginning to make its departure.

Turning back around, she said, "I can't be gone long."

"You won't be." he said softly.

She stepped out of her black, short heeled shoes as he held out both arms that she then grasped. "Wow, you're really warm."

He only smiled warmly as she then stepped on the toes of both boots. "You know, I have been flying, before." she said coyly.

"Not like this."

As if to wonder what he meant, she looked down and saw that they were now slowly rising into the air, already having rose over the Bugle sign.

They continued to rise, with him maintaining a firm, yet gentle grasp upon her waist. He felt joy in the sound she made as she laughed in amazement at how high they continued to rise until they reached to just over a set of clouds. They hovered several meters over the wisps of air vapors when he then said, "Listen. What do you hear?"

"I don't hear anything."

"I hear everything. Everyday, I hear people, men, women, and children, cry out for a savior. It hurts to know, that I can't help them all, yet still listen as people suffer. But for every voice crying in despair, I hear the cries of laughter and joy. I can hear the gasp of a newborn as it takes its first breath. I can hear when two souls are united in love and marriage, and it fills me with a sense of elation, that for every bad there is in the world, there is also an equal good. I will do all I can to prove myself to the world, and if you are willing to trust me, to you as well."

She looked into his eyes as he said this, and could not imagine how he was still sane from hearing any and all things all over the world, and still hold onto his morals. She felt the honesty and conviction in his words, as if he was giving an oath to her. "I believe you. But you should know, my boss has given you a name?"

"Oh?"

"He called you Superman."

"Superman? Wouldn't that make me seem a bit...pretentious?"

"I think it suits you."

"Well, it seems as if I don't have much of a choice in the matter, now do I?"

"No, I guess not." she said with a chuckle that made his world light brighter and his heart flutter.

"Then Superman it is. I think it's time that I take you back now." he said as noticed the coming of the night.

To Sally Floyd, her night was a majestic one as she was held in his arms as he tilted forwards slightly and when he grasped her around the waist with one hand, and took her left in his own, they descended.

Because they had flown very far away from the Bugle, they took what she considered the scenic route when he flew over the Hudson. Her right index finger lightly caressed the water. She turned to look into his eyes as he did hers. They then rose a bit into the air as he guided them in tandem with the Brooklyn Bridge, flying right beside it. Their speed never changed as he flew through the city of New York, but he did so at a moderate pace, letting her enjoy the flight.

She showed that she did as she grasped his right hand firmly showing him that she trusted him. Many an eye looked through windows and such as the duo flew passed the buildings they occupied, some even snapping pictures. But none of that mattered as Sally Floyd and her Superman could only think of the other. All too soon, they arrived at the Bugle, wherein he rose until he hovered just over several meters from where he lifted off from earlier.

Setting down gently, he lowered her until her feet touched the ground.

'Screw it.' she thought to herself as she hastily attacked his mouth with her own, letting out a moan as soft lips brushed over lips that felt like smooth stone.

Chris, in all of his abilities, never thought he could be attracted to a woman this quick as he held her and opened himself to her. Over a minute later, Sally ended the kiss as she savored the taste of him, her teeth brushing over her bottom lip. Because she was on her balls of her joints behind her toes, she lowered herself down the rest of the way, needing to take a moment to catch her breath.

"You know, they say it's all downhill after the first kiss."

"I'm pretty sure that only counts when you're kissing a human." he replied, almost out of breath himself as he leaned down and re-initiated their makeout session. Because his mind was focused on Sally, unbeknownst to him, he was being viewed by several cameras linked to an Secret Agency that's kept its eyes on him since he was just a boy. The one eyed Director only smirked as he watched the scene from a computer monitor inside of his office in the Headquarters in Washington D.C..

After an unknown amount of time had passed, the couple split apart, their heads touching. "Wow." Sally said.

"I agree." Chris said, causing Sally to laugh out loud while leaning against his chest. She remained in his arms for several more moments, just enjoying the power he held and the warmth his body gave off.

"I have to get back to work." she moaned into his chest.

"I understand." he said.

Looking back up into his eyes, she asked, "Will I see you? Around?"

"I'll always be around," he answered as he then began to back away, his arms slowly sliding away from her own until he was a few feet away. He began to ascend into the now darkened sky when he looked down and said, "Good night, Sally."

She smiled as she watched both of his arms rise as he continued to ascend until he was a mere speck in the night sky, and then disappeared.

Almost over half an hour later, and a slightly disheveled Sally Floyd entered the bullpen of the Daily Bugle, noticing her partner already going over a now printed out story. Realizing how hard she was with him earlier, she walked up to him as she then tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned until he noticed his new partner, disheveled though she may be with her hair in a severley bad mess.

"Y-Yes Ms. Floyd." Chris said.

"Actually, it's Sally. I...realize I was...rude with you earlier and was wondering if you'd like to get a bite to eat. Dinner." she surmised, "You're buying though."

"Di-Dinner? Dinner sounds good."

"Good, let me just get myself in order and I'll see you here in about...let's say, ten minutes?"

"Tha-That'd be swell, Sally."

"Great, I'll just freshen up, and be right back. And, you should know, no one uses that term anymore."

"Oh, right, right." he chuckled a bit nervously.

As she made to head to the ladies room to freshen up, he stood at his full height and smiled brazenly. He finished his report and filed it away handed it in to Robertson who promised to go over what he wrote and publish it the next day should it be approved.

He made it back to his desk just in time to see his partner all cleaned up and looking just as beautiful as she was before he took her flying. Slipping on his long brown coat, he held out an arm, "Shall we, Ms. Floyd?"

"Yes, lets." she replied as she looped her arm in his own and proceeded to walk with him to the elevators.

 **In the meanwhile**

Several thousand kilometers from the sun, in a green flash, a black, elongated capsule tumbled into existence. There were markings upon the object as it spun on its axis, getting closer to Sol. A scream that would not be heard, even in the vacuum of space, came from the object as it then exploded, and the figure of a woman with her arms outstretched and her hands fisted, could be seen stopping and hovering just before the giant yellow star.

She wore a black suit with a strange symbol or crest resting before her left breast. Her hair was long and brunette with several strands of silver hair on one side. For all of her amazing figure, she was a beautiful woman. Her eyes remained closed for several minutes when they opened and peered into the sun and felt its radiance wash over her, making her stronger, and healing the damage to where she was stabbed by her nieces adopted sister.

'Val!' she thought to herself when she turned her body and looked for the world known as Earth. Spotting it, she lowered her head, brought her arms to bare, and shot off at incredible speeds, all the while, she continued to think to herself, 'Don't worry sister, I won't fail you this time, nor Val. I will make it right and unite our family, one way, or another. This I swear.'

Astra Non In-Ze had arrived.

 **Chapter 2 done. Took a while, but here it is. I intend to upload it tomorrow, once I give it another go over in order to correct any misspellings and fix any errors in wordings and such. Give me your thoughts and I'll continue to update as much as possible. Speaking of which, Jennifer Garner has a new bad ass movie coming out called 'Peppermint', a sort of female aspect of a Punisher film if you will. It looks like it's going to be a kick ass thrill ride of a movie alongside the much anticipated film called 'Upgrade'. I intend to go see both. But until then, enjoy. Until next time.**


	3. Chapter 3 Astra

**Superman: Birth of a Hero**

 **Ch. 3 Astra**

 **I do now own The Avengers and or Supergirl**

 **Marvel and DC Comics do**

 **Positive reviews are welcome**

 **spiderman1fan: Thank you for the review, it's much appreciated. I will try to do so. One episode from Smallville comes to mind in which will be replicated here.**

 **Zeroinstinct117: Thanks, and will do.**

 **Guest: Yes, yes she does.**

 **shugokage: Thanks. Superman Returns and Man of Steel inspired that chapter, and a bit of Smallville homage will be used in this.**

 **chase manaena: I will try.**

 **edboy4926: Thank you.**

 **Authors note: I have recently come into the knowledge that both Zor-El and Alura had survived Kryptons destruction, while still allowing the idea that both Jor-El and Lara remain dead. I don't like that idea, and have taken liberty to think that if Zor-El was coward enough to save just himself and his wife instead of also saving his brother and sister in-law, then I think that Zor-El and Alura should remain dead, while somehow leaving a clone of Alura and Zor-El to take their names and identities on the last bit of Krypton that now floats in space, Argos. I don't think that Alura is truly alive, as the woman who portrayed her, Erica Durance, looks much younger, despite really being a year older than the original actress in real life, Laura Benanti.**

 **There is also the fact that Laura appears much older than Erica, so why does Kara recognize her mothers much more youthful appearance instead of how she remembered her? Food for thought.**

 **Ch. 3 Astra**

 **Nov. 11th, 2008**

 **Hutchinson, Kansas**

 **Kleyton Farm**

A tall, two story house stood before her. It was a simple home, warm and inviting. The entirety of the place was brown, with gray shingles. There were two windows upstairs for the second floor. The first floor porch looked like something someone would have for spending short periods of time, just sitting outside, sipping cool drinks as the outside roofing was held up vie six wood based support beams to protect those whom would sit underneath, protected from the harmful effects of the suns UV Rays, making that day much more enjoyable. The top of said beams had side extensions to aid in keeping the outside patio roof in place.

The grass surrounding the farm was brown. As seasons changed, like all plant life, the cycle of nature changed with it. Already it seemed, that the crops of the land had been gathered and harvested for the year. Her black heeled boots walked over the flattened field as she stood before the house. It was surrounded by a white picket fence. A latch behind the swing-in door of the fence was all that separated her from the house.

Not bothering with simply hovering over the fence, she undid the latch and walked through the now opened fence door. Re-latching it, she stepped onto the porch and walked to the door. Pressing her right thumb against the key slot within the door nob, she was easily able to gain access to the entrance of the house.

Walking in and closing the door behind her, she took her time to gather in and familiarize herself with the inner workings of the farming couples home. There were many a picture inside the house, most of which decorated a good portion of the higher areas of the walls. Even the walls that connected to the second floor stairway were covered in photos with a doorway table that had a single drawer leaning against it. A small blue ceramic bowl on the table had several nick knacks and whatnot inside of it. Beside the table was a white cupboard door. Using her X-Ray vision enabled to see that it contained only boxes inside and a few cleaning items such as a broom, dustpan, mop, and various cleaning chemicals.

Her right hand then gently grasped the polished wood of the stairway, the texture of the wood smooth to the touch, leading to the second floor as she looked up. She didn't need to use her X-Ray Vision to know that somewhere on the second floor, in one of the rooms, was where her nephew had stayed when he had became a member of this particular family.

Returning her attention to the photos on the wall, she smiled contentedly as the photos contained a happy family of a boy with a darker tone of blond hair and hazel eyes, sitting for a photo shoot with the couple he had come to call family. Her eyes watered as her emotions came to the forefront. Taking one of the framed photos hanging from the wall, a photo showing the family in celebration with the same boy, with a cake in front of him as he sat and tried to blow out the candles that were within the top layer of frosted icing of the cake, his adoptive mother and father urging him on, she _'gasped'_ in heartache at the fact that she had missed out on not one, but two of her beloved twins lives. This truth drove home the knowledge that she had no one to blame but herself, yet it did nothing to lessen the pain in her heart.

She replaced the photo on the wall and turned her attention to the living room of the house. More photos littered the living room walls, as well as glass door cabinets. Some plates with words and phrases were placed in specific areas of the living room in which Astra In-Ze thought was...exceptional.

Her eyes landed on a small rows of books leaning on their fronts while being stacked so close together with a wooden cabinet, held in such a way by a set of metal sculptures of what she recognized as Kryptonian figurines. One resembled her sister, Alura, the other, Zor-El. Both figurines appeared to be made of what she figured was aluminum. Picking it up and feeling the weight in her hands, she assumed correctly that the metal figures were in fact made from the earth metal, 'aluminum'. The one she held was the one created in her sisters image.

Placing it back where she found it, she then noticed that one of the books was a bit different from the rest and was a bit bigger as it from where it resided, she turned it over and noticed the front of the cover saying, **'Kleyton Family Album'**.

In it, were more heart wrenching scenes of her nephews life and the life he lived with the humans. An unknown amount of time had passed when she picked up the sound of a motor vehicle approaching. Because her eyes were stained with tears now flowing down her cheeks, she closed the album and placed it back upon the table before her as she had collapsed upon a sofa when she began leafing through the Family Photo Album. She was glad that the small table was where it was as she fought to get her emotions in order when the family entered.

She heard their heartbeats and the silence that followed when they entered their home. Using her ability to see through walls, she observed as the Kleytons were now slowly walking towards the living room.

Astra kicked herself for not only forgetting to re-lock the door, but for also missing the pump action shot gun hidden behind the table within the hallway entrance of the home. As she stood and made an attempt to gather herself and clear her eyes, there was the familiar sound of a round being chambered within the weapon as she observed the man removing the gun from its safety. Bringing it to bare as he stepped around the corner of the hall. The man, Mr. Allen Kleyton froze as his eyes widened in shock.

"That's impossible. You're dead." he had said.

"Allen, who is it?" his wife asked as she stepped around her husband. Her eyes too widened in shock, her hands flying to her mouth. "It can't be."

"Please, I'm not who you think I am." Astra pleaded. "Just hear me out."

"You got five seconds to start talking." Allen demanded in a warning tone of voice.

"Alura is... _was_ my sister. My twin sister. My name is Astra."

"Bu-But how is this possible? I-We thought Chris was the only one to cross into our dimension."

"It's...a bit difficult to explain. Please, I mean no harm."

Laying a hand on her husbands arm, Charlotte looked to her husbands left arm while he still held the weapon at the Kryptonian woman. Her expression was silently asking her husband to please lower the gun. He looked into her eyes and ever so slowly, lowered it.

Allen breathed an easy breath, relieving the tension he took at the thought of someone breaking into their home, and that maybe, just maybe, that someone being a Government Agent looking into their sons life.

Astra too let out the air she held when Allen then said, "I'm Allen. This is my wife, Charlotte." he pointed at his now smiling wife who waved somewhat nervously.

"Astra No-, no Astra In-Ze. Because of my husband being dead, and myself returning from the dead due to extenuating circumstances, I no longer have to carry my late husbands name." she explained a bit oddly.

"You came back from the dead?" Charlotte asked a bit skeptically, with a raised eye.

"I can explain."

"I think we're going to need some coffee and some strong whiskey to go with this conversation." Allen said as he left the room a moment to replace the gun back in its hiding spot.

"Would you like some coffee?" Charlotte asked. "Or do you not drink coffee?"

"Believe it or not," Astra replied sheepishly with a nervous chuckle, "Coffee really does sound good right now. I find that I've grown rather fond of coffee back on Kara's Earth."

"She's alive?" Allen asked as he walked back into the living room.

She nodded in affirmative, "Kal-El as well. Only, he's not so little any more. The entire time Kara was in the Phantom Zone, Kal had grown up into a fine Kryptonian with good human parents with strong morals that enabled him to become one of Earths greatest heroes. It was his human mate that gave him the name, 'Superman'."

A _'snort'_ from Allen caught her attention, only for his wife to lightly slap his chest.

"Did I miss something?"

Quickly walking into the kitchen, Charlotte returned a moment later with a full newspaper with Val's image in the same, if not similar Kryptonian suit as Kal-El's. The paper was from a newspaper calling itself **'The Daily Bugle'**. The Headline read as **'Superman: Hero or Con Artist?!'** The papers top story from the day after her nephews coming out was written and published by the same man who called himself 'J. Jonah Jameson' who was apparently the publisher of the entire damn News Company.

She quickly read through the entire story and was disgusted by how vile the Publisher spoke of her nephew and promised retribution. Her eyes burned with righteous anger as her fingers crumpled the paper in her hands.

Astra had not read one positive thing in the paper to paint her nephew in the light. She was so angered at the audacity that the human had to speak ill of her nephew, that she didn't notice until the smell reached her nose that she had in fact, incinerated the paper in her hands.

Her breathing was coming out in great _'huffs'_ as she fought to reign in her anger. She turned and was startled to find that Val's adoptive parents did not seem surprised at the heated destruction and anger towards the Editor In-Chiefs words towards their boy, nor were they surprised to see her reaction. With her breathing finally under control and her eyes no longer burning, Astra spoke, "I-I apologize. I lo-lost control."

"That's alright dear." Charlotte replied as she patted the Kryptonian General on the arm, "I nearly did the same. Thankfully, we thought to get two copies of the same paper when that story came out. Fortunately, the paper from the day after helped to ease the peoples fears and Chris's transitioning as this one," here he handed another paper to Astra who took it slowly so as to try and hope that it did not have the same effect on her as the last one, "Was written by a woman whom Chris was not only smitten with, but is now working with."

With a raised eye, wondering at the meaning of the last phrase, Astra read as the headline of the paper from the day after, a mere two days before her arrival on this world. **"Superman: The Last Son of Krypton!"** it said as she read and approved of the writers work. It spoke of things only Val and Kara wold know, from their point of view. It even gave his Kryptonian name and the name of the House in which he belonged to back on Krypton.

"This woman you speak of, Sally Floyd? You say that they are working together."

By this time, Astra was lead into the kitchen where she was offered a chair by the man of the House while Charlotte had given her a cup and poured the precious brew into the cup. Allen held up a small tin and shook it, "Whiskey?"

"Yes, please." Astra said as she held out her cup with both hands. She made sure to control her strength as she held the cup, so when Allen finished pouring a generous amount of the alcoholic brew into the cup, Astra brought it to her lips and moaned in pleasure. "I thank you. Even though we Kryptonians can't get drunk due to how our cells burn off the effects thanks to the said cells being bombarded by solar rays from the sun, that's not to say that we don't enjoy the finer things in life."

"I'm jealous." Allen stated, only to receive another playful swat from his wife. Astra actually gave a hearty laugh at the joke and the humor behind it as she lowered the cup on the kitchen table in order to not spill a drop.

"To answer your question," Charlotte began, "Chris, or Val-El has taken up journalism and now works as a reporter at the Daily Bugle in New York."

The Kryptonian General started to laugh again as she held her arms to her chest.

"What?" Allen queried with a slight laugh.

"Nothing, nothing." Astra answered as she fought to get control of herself, "It's-It's just that, Kal-El is a reporter for a Newspaper called the Daily Planet, whereas Kara works with another company called CatCo Media."

Both Kleytons then began laughing themselves, with another bout hitting Astra less than a second later. It was during this laughter when a voice called out, "Mom, Dad. I'm home."

"In here, son." Allen called out. "We have a surprise for you."

Having turned at the voice of the new arrival, however different he sounded, Astra knew to whom it belonged the moment he called out to the ones he called 'Mom and Dad'. She rose as she turned, with the Kleytons also rising.

The door separating the kitchen from the Living Room opened as Christopher Kleyton, alias Val-El of Krypton, stopped before the couple and their guest, the door being held open by his open hand holding it in place. He was wearing his Kryptonian uniform when he walked in.

Chris stopped breathing, if only for a moment as he recognized the woman before him. She was as he remembered, his mind flashing back to the moment he and Kara last saw her before their mother ushered them from the living quarters, to their rooms, back on Krypton. The only difference was the black outfit with her husbands shield over her left breast.

"Hello Val."

"Au-Aunt Astra? But...But you died. How...?"

"As I told your parents, I can explain. But before I do, do you have a hug for your Aunt?"

He wasted no time as he threw himself at her, embracing her, the sniffles coming out as he trembled in her arms. "I thought...I thought I was the last one." he cried.

"It's ok," she said in his ear as she pulled away and grabbed both sides of his head and looked him in the eyes, "You are no longer alone. I'm here now, now and forever, always."

He nodded as a fresh batch of tears flowed down his face. Once more, he was holding her, not afraid to use his full strength as she was just as strong as him and could take it. She ran a hand through his dirty blond hair while quieting the sound of his cry and the trembling of his body.

The day dragged on in a more somber tone as Astra held nothing back when she began her tale, but nonetheless, had spoke only the truth of what she had done. The revelation about not just her crimes and actions, but the survival of both Kara and Kal-El. Chris, or Val as she saw him, took it rather well after she asked him to give her a chance to explain everything before judging her.

"So, Kara is alive?" he asked with hope.

"Yes. And on that Earth, Kal-El is called Superman." her nephew _'snorted'_ at the mere coincidence of the idea that both he and Kal would share the same title given to them by the humans.

"Why did you do it? Why didn't you try another way?" he asked as he then turned serious. "I'm sure that with my mothers help, another way in saving Krypton could have been implemented."

"There was no other way. Or at the time at least, I thought. And dying by your sisters adopted siblings hand had given me much time to think on such things. Entering the afterlife upon my death, I was met with by your mother, Alura. It was she who helped me see that I had been going about things all wrong, and that by imprisoning me within the Phantom Zone when she did, I would have a chance to live, and hopefully think on what I had done and what I had become while imprisoned. She knew neither she, nor the others would survive Kryptons destruction, and so, had implemented contingencies that not even I was ever aware of. Before my death, not a day went by when I didn't think of my sister. We were twins, two sides of the same coin, but both with differing ideas on how to save the legacy of our people. Whereas I stood by and allowed my husband and Zods forces to go about their actions and not stopping them, giving my support to them, I did feel remorse in the lives lost by their hands. Zod, Non, Jax-Ur, Faora, all of them and more, had taken the sword against our people. Because of my support, I might as well have stained my hands in the blood of the innocent as well."

"Do you truly regret what you did and what you tried to do?" Charlotte asked as she placed a comforting hand over Astras.

"Yes." the former Kryptonian General answered without hesitation. The small family could see that she was sincere in her words. But as for her nephew, he wore a somewhat troubled expression. His arms were crossed, his eyes twitching and moving from side to side, as if he was thinking at a thousand miles a minute.

"Val?" Astra called softly in a worried tone. She was afraid of this, him not knowing how to feel. It was the same for Kara in the beginning. And it took time for her to forgive her, at least until she went ahead with her plans anyway, forcing both sisters to fight one another, an action that did not help in the least in the end.

But even at the end, she hoped Kara had understood, she was only trying to save Earth. Trying to prevent it from undergoing the same fate as Krypton. It seemed that Fate had other plans as she then found herself facing her sister in what humans would call 'Purgatory', but from a Kryptonian standpoint.

Her sister, even dead, had words to say to her, none of them positive. Rebuking, hurtful, but necessary words nonetheless. In Death, Astra In-Ze knew, Alura was right. Before judgment could be passed, her sister had given her a final chance to do it right, but in another universe. A universe in which Val-El had called home since Kryptons destruction.

And now, seeing him here, not knowing his thoughts on the matter. She was worried, and yet hoped that he would give her a chance.

Sensing he was being observed, Val closed his eyes, took a breath, and exhaled. Opening them, he spoke, "I need some time alone."

Placing his hands on the kitchen table, he made to rise to his feet.

"Val?" Astra tried as she too rose.

She made to reach out to him, but he jerked back a bit, "I said I need time." he said as he looked at her with a cold stare.

"Chris?" his mother called out in shock at the demeanor of how he spoke to Astra.

"Forgive me mom." he responded, looking at her when she rose, "But I need to figure things out for myself. And the only way to do that, is by going to the source. Excuse me." Without another word, he turned and left the dining room.

"Christopher Johnathan Kleyton, you get right back here, this instant." his father hollered.

The male Kryptonian paused for a moment, and yet, without turning around, he spoke, "I'm sorry, Dad. I just need to...find a way to get my head around all of this." he used his hands to demonstrate his meaning as he waved them around his head.

Astra, standing next to the Kleyton patriarch, said, "I know what I did on Krypton was wrong. And I am not asking for you to forgive me. All I want is a chance to get to know, you, my nephew. To be given a chance, only a chance."

"A chance? Just like how you gave Kara a chance?" he snidely replied, as he turned fully to glare at her.

She flinched and looked down, "I deserve that." Raising her head, she continued, "I will always remember what I did to your sister and think of how I could have handled the situation better. Without the need for hurting both her and her sister Alex." by now, tears were already flowing down her cheek, sniffles followed by a sob, "I'll never forgive myself for what I have done on Krypton, to Kara and the people of the other Earth. I have to live with that. But your mother, my sister Alura said that this is my last chance to do it right. For me, and hopefully, for us."

Chris turned his head forward and lowered it. He wanted to believe her, he really did. But she had already betrayed him twice when she hurt Kara, his twin. And he couldn't forget how she also admitted to attacking Kal-El along with the people of Kara's adopted home town, apparently called National City, with the Kryptonian project program called 'Myriad', a mind control program used to bend the minds and will to the one in control of the program.

Even after her Death, led by none other than Non, Astra's lackeys tried and apparently failed, but not without casualties on both sides. The thought that his original mission, charged him by his parents, his uncle, and aunt, though no longer necessary, was nearly corrupted by the actions that Astra had undertaken in a perverted attempt at saving Earth from sharing the same fate as Krypton. No, he needed to distance himself from Astra for a moment.

His parents, both in this world and the world beyond may have decided she was worthy of another chance, but he wasn't so sure.

Turning his head slightly, he said, "I-I'm not sure if I can give you that chance. I want to. Rao, do I want to. But you hurt a lot of people, Kara and Kal included. I need to figure out how to handle this situation in a more positive light."

"I understand Val. I'm not wanting you to forgive me right away, just give a chance to prove that I've changed. That I'm not the same person."

Her nephew stood before them, and for a moment, kept in place of where he stood, his head still tilted to the side when he nodded. Turning back around and walking forward, he disappeared around the corner, the sound of the house door opening and closing, followed by the sound of small breaking of the sound barrier as he launched into the sky.

 **The Arctic**

 **Fortress of Solitude**

He was angry. Boy, was Chris angry. In his emotionally charged state, Chris had forgone discretion and quickly flew to his home away from home. It was a huge crystal structure in the middle of a frozen landscape. Many a long and huge crystal columns intersected diagonally with one another creating a more majestic look than that of an actual fortress. The Fortress in of itself, was massive. It was almost the same length as a football field, the high rising crystal columns having risen to just over six stories high in length.

An opening appeared upon his approach as a portal took shape within a solidified crystal barrier that acted as a doorway. Flying through, the portal resumed its solid form. Chris righted himself as he lightly flew towards an area that served as a control platform that enabled him to access the fortress's main systems and also served to allow him to communicate with the AI's of his biological parents personality matrix. He would come here at times to commune with them and update them on his progress throughout the time since the fortress was first erected.

Neel'ex, the Fortress's only occupant for the many years since the Fortress was created, hovered from wherever it was that the Kryptonian droid usually stationed itself when its Kryptonian companion was elsewhere.

 _"Val-El, you have returned!?"_

"Yes, my old friend." Chris replied as he stepped up to the main crystal console and began rotating the crystals in order to speak to the digital ghosts of Zor-El and Alura.

 _"Your bio-signs appear to be irregular. Your heart beat and blood pressure are accelerated. This suggests that you are distressed. May I ask, what is it that troubles you?"_

With a _sigh_ , Chris answered, "My Aunt, Astra is here, on this Earth. She has revealed things to me that I am...finding hard to accept. I am..confused and unsure of what I must do."

 _"Oh, what kinds of things?"_

"Well, for one thing, Kara and Kal-El are alive. And second, and this is the most interesting part, my parents used Kara and I to lure Astra home where my mother then had Kryptonian Defense Force Soldiers arrest her for acts of terrorism and an accessory to the fact." Then after a moment to let himself pause and think, Chris turned slowly to look at his droid friend, "Did you know of this?"

Lowering its shining dome head, the droid replied honestly with a shameful tone, _"I did."_ Neel'ex admitted. _"Astra had noble intentions, but her actions resulted in the loss of innocent lives, lives that could have been spared had she acted in a more professional manner befitting one of her station at the time the crimes were committed. Though she had not taken any lives, she did not prevent their loss at the same time. Because of this, Astra was given a chance by Alura to turn away from her destructive path by your mother, but refused."_

"And your reason for not telling me of this?"

 _"I was given a direct order by Alura to not speak of this until such a time was necessary."_

Chris's eyes lowered as he looked at his companion droid who in turn, raised its optic viewport to look at him. He could tell that Neel'ex meant well, but it still hurt to learn that everything Astra had spoke of, was actually true, as the hovering droid was able to confirm just a few seconds ago.

"Well, that time is now." The very angry Kryptonian said as he turned and ran his hands over the control console, activating the AI's of Alura and Zor-El. Their holographic images shimmered into existence before the console, where Chris stood tall and menacing as he looked at them both.

 _ **"Val-El, my son. It is good to see you."**_ said the image of Alura.

"Save it. The both of you." he commanded with a growl. "You both have some explaining to do."

 _ **"Val?"**_ Zor-El gasped in shock. _**"What has come over you, son?"**_

"You used me. The both of you." their son answered. "You used Kara. Why did you make us think that in summoning Astra with our Spy Beacons, that it would be so that you could get in contact with her, when in reality, you used us both to further your needs to punish her for trying to save us? Even if her actions were wrong, that gave you no right to do that to us?"

 _ **"Val,"**_ Alura tried, _**"Where is this coming from?"**_

Turning away with a scowl, he replied, "Astra is here. On this Earth."

 _ **"How is that possible?"**_ Zor-El demanded, despite his already pale complexion, slightly getting lighter, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Sh-She died. On Kara's Earth. Somehow, Braniac's female counterpart Indigo, high-jacked Fort Rozz. She used Kara's pod to plot a course for Earth, managing an successful escape from the Phantom Zone. Fort Rozz crashed somewhere in the Nevada wilderness. For years, the Fort Roz inmates managed to integrate themselves into Earth's Terran society. Even Astra and Non, and their fellow insurgents. They ran into Kara on several incursions, and like Kal-El, Kara had become a champion of Earth, taking the name, 'Supergirl'."

 _ **"She lives?"**_ Alura gasped in relief and joy.

 _ **"Kara!?"**_ Zor-El said with a similar reaction as the holographic image that was Alura.

"She does."

 _ **"And Kal-El?"**_ Alura asked.

"The Kents found him, as Uncle Jor-El had intended in the worst case scenario. He grew up alone, but eventually became the Superman of that Earth while Kara remained in the Phantom Zone for twenty-four Earth years. And while I was here, where time is somewhat different than there, Kara grew up with a loving human family when Kal-El found her and placed her where she would be safe from his enemies." he added. "Now, getting back to my earlier questions, why did you use us to aid in betraying and capturing Aunt Astra? We could have convinced her to come home and persuaded her to turn back from her dark path. To turn away from Non. To end her crusade and find a better way to save our people?"

 _ **"I am sorry Val-El."**_ Alura said. _**"Because of her inability to do the right thing, Astra had to be stopped. I admit, I was responsible for deceiving you and Kara? I convinced Zor-El that it was the only way to stop Astra, Non, and Zod, before any further loss of life was lost. I never meant to betray you or your sister. Astra was my sister, my responsibility."**_

"It still doesn't make it right."

 _ **"No, it doesn't."**_

 _ **"Son,"**_ Zor-El spoke up, _**"Regardless of what happened, you Aunt committed to a cause that would enable her to force her will on others, even possibly your mother and I, as we, like Jor-El, had voices within the council itself."**_

"You speak of 'Myriad'?"

Alura gasped, _**"She told you!?"**_ It wasn't a question, merely a statement as the shock came to the AI's yet again.

"Yes." Chris said. "But she never saw it come to be on Earth, because Kara's adopted sibling, a human of a secret American Government Agency stopped her. Killing her with a blade, forged from radioactive pieces of Krypton called 'Kryptonite'. Apparently, with Kryptons destruction, an unknown quantity of debris from our world, made it to Earth. Kryptonite emits a radiation deadly to anyone from Krypton. Astra used a miniature mind control device on Kara's human sister, forcing them to fight one another, but Kara was able to free her. She then initiated an attempt on activating Myriad when the head of the Agency, a martian disguised as a human, fought her, nearly killing him, when his second in command, Kara's _'sister',_ thrust a Kryptonite blade right through her back, and out her front." he stopped as it was becoming emotional to speak on what happened to his beloved Aunt and maternal secondary mother figure. With a sniffle and clearing his eyes, he took a moment to calm himself.

 _ **"She died?!"**_ Alura gasped in despair as she placed both hands over her heart.

 _ **"If Astra died, then how is she here on this Earth, alive?"**_ Zor-El asked.

Alura turned from him back to her son as she awaited his answer. He had taken a moment to clear his eyes as he was still in shock at how much he had missed out due to being on an alternate world for all intents and purposes, he was, and yet, was not meant to be on.

"Rao." was his answer. "However it happened, she found herself in the Otherworld, what humans term as 'Purgatory'. There, she met up with you, mother."

 _ **"Me?"**_ she queried.

"Yeah. I guess she needed a wake-up call or something. Look the matter of the fact is, that she's alive. Alive and on this Earth, and she told me everything from her point of view, that you two and Neel'ex were able to confirm." Lowering his head once more, he leaned over while grasping the edges of the crystal control console. Taking a few breaths, he then said, "I don't know what convinced you that it was alright for you to use Kara and I like you did, and I don't appreciate it, at all. And what's even worse, is you even used Neel'ex. My companion and my friend. I now have to bare the idea that I in some way am partially to blame for Astra's incarceration."

 _ **"Val..."**_ Alura tried.

"Don't!" he said sternly. "You hurt me, and you also hurt Kara. I cannot let that pass, nor can I condone it. I'm leaving now, and I don't know how long it will be before I can face you and or speak to the both of you without wanting to delete the both of you from the crystals, what with the mistakes the both of you have made regarding not just Astra, but Kara and I as well."

Zor-El quickly spoke up before his son deactivated their AI's programs, _**"I understand son. And I'm sorry. You are right. What we did was wrong. There is no denying that."**_

"But...?"

 _ **"But at least let us make it right."**_

 _ **"Val,"**_ Alura said with remorse in her voice, _**"I am sorry, for betraying you and Kara. For using you to bring in my sister. I thought it was the right thing to do at the time. I now see, that I was wrong."**_

 _ **"When you are ready, we will be here for you, son."**_

 _ **"Please Val, tell Astra, I am sorry. I want to speak to my sister again, even if she is still angry with me. I will at least know that she is alive and well."**_ By now, Alura looked close to tears, despite the fact that she was a holographic AI based off of the brainwave patterns and personality of the true Alura Zor-El nee In-Ze. _**"Please, I am begging you, Val."**_

With a grunt, the costumed Kryptonian nodded. His hand hovered over the control crystals when he took one last look at the images of his parents, Alura said her final words before he deactivated the Holograms, _**"Thank you, Val-El. I hope you can forgive your father and I, in time."**_ she said with a small, yet saddened smile.

"We'll see. He said in return when he then ran his fingers over the command console, deactivating the holograms. They disappeared in shimmering particulates of digital pixels made of hard light. With that done, he stood up completely and with his arms at his side, raised his head and closed his eyes.

 _"Sigh,_ now what do I do?" he asked himself.

 _"Val-El?"_ the hovering droid queried as it hovered nearby.

"Don't worry, old friend. I'm not mad at you. You were following your base program. What I need is some air, and maybe some words of wisdom from an unbiased source. But who?" And then he remembered, having been in New York for the last several days, he had enjoyed listening from a distance, to a man who had experience with the mentoring of todays youth. "That's it." he said, snapping his fingers.

 _"Val-El?!"_

"I'll see you soon, Neel'ex. There's someone I need to see." With that said, the new hero disappeared in a blur, the air rippling behind him with a _'whoosh'._

 **Harlem, New York**

 **Pop's Barber Shop**

 **179 Malcolm X Blvd.**

For many years, his enhanced hearing had heard many things. His parents were the best source of necessary aid when he needed the help and aid in order to talk his problems out as they listened. But now, since he felt that they were too close to the situation to give a fair assessment of how he should act, he felt he needed a different ear to hear his problems. Since his arrival in New York almost a week ago, he learned from some and from his own ears, the wise words of wisdom that an old man had given back to the community of todays youth.

He of course didn't know the old mans true name, just the name that everybody called him, 'Pop'! Hovering over the streets directly above the shop, Val-El, also known as Chris Kleyton, but to the world at large, the Superman, slowly lowered directly behind the clear glass window panel until he touched down on the smooth concrete pavement. The words of Pops day to day lessons of todays young minds was one that instilled him with a sense of respect for the old man, reminding him of his own human father. Hearing Pops words was like a breath of fresh air to his ears. The man had experience, living in the streets for as long as he had.

There were many a people outside of the shop, on the sidewalk, the streets, and elsewhere nearby that stopped to look in awe, and in some, a slight bit of fear as he had came down slowly, watching as he lowered to stand before the entrance to **'Pops Barber Shop'**.

Inside, the normal patrons of the shop had stopped what they were doing and looked outward with shock as the newest hero to the world had come to Pop's Barber Shop, despite his alien origins since the world now knew of who he was, where he was from, and why he was here.

The old man in whom the shop was named in honor of, stood inside and observed cautiously for a moment before he then made his way to the door. Standing just before it in his standard black Barbers uniform shirt, dark pants, and a dark tan colored hat that was made of a smooth straw texture, the aged barber saw the look upon the young Kryptonians face and saw conflicting emotions raging inside the boy. The need to vent and get his frustrations out, clearly evident.

Opening the door, he asked, "Can I help you, son?"

"Only if you have time and an ear." Chris answered, nervously rubbing the back of his head, a shy smile playing on his lips.

"Why don't you come in and tell me all about your problems."

"Thank you, uh sir." Chris responded.

Stepping to the side, the old man replied, "Call me Pop, everyone else does."

"Thank you,...Pop."

Directing him to a seat that was now devoid of paying customer who willingly surrendered the seat, Chris sat down as Pop had grabbed a set of shears, looked at him and then his hair.

Chris chuckled, "You're not going to be able to cut it. Like my body, my hair is too dense. Clippers and trimmers won't work."

"That's good to know." Pop replied as he returned his work tools back to the table they had lain on, looked to a seat behind him and with a _sigh_ , sat down, leaning to the side, "How do you keep the hair short and your face so clean?"

"Heat vision, with the aid of mirror."

There were several winces when the patrons of the shop heard that, the old man also flinching when he had to imagine how Chris was forced to use his eyes focused heat beams through a mirror in order to keep the facial hair down. "So, what's bothering you son?"

With a _sigh_ of his own, Chris answered, "Where do I begin?"

"Take your time. No one here will say anything. I promise."

Taking a deep breath, Chris nodded as he was silent for a few moments before speaking. Those inside of the shop, listened as the Kryptonian told his story. Time passed as they and Pop listened to the boy speak of his homeworld, his family and friends. All lost, or so he thought when his Aunt suddenly came out of nowhere. Pop listened with intent as Chris spoke of how he didn't know how to feel about the actions of not just his Aunt, but his parents as well. What with Astra having admitted voluntarily to the things she and the rebel forces of Kryptons army had committed, from acts of treason, mostly in the hope of saving Krypton from not just the council, but from itself, to being an accessory to murder. He then explained his parents own actions and what they had done, their blatant acts at using he and his twin to lure their Aunt home where the Kryptonian Defense Force was waiting, unknown to the twins.

Chris explained the mechanics of how Kryptons core had become unstable because of the councils decision to tamper with it in the hopes of finding a renewable energy source in order to save them instead of reaching out to the stars as their ancestors did.

He regaled Pop and those who were listening, of which there were now many, how his newly arrived Aunt had explained the reason for not just her arrival, but her treacherous acts on their homeworld, that resulted in the deaths of an unknown number of Kryptonians, and that his parents had used both he and Kara with their personal spy beacon devices that all three had on them at the time, without he and Kara knowing they had been used.

He even explained that the theory of the multiverse and multiple Earths existing in their own universes was real as his sister and cousin were apparently alive as that Earths set of Champions, if what Astra had explained, was true.

When he was done, he realized exactly how many people were listening as they either sat or stood to listen while he told his tale. Pop on the other hand, looked hard at the young man, "How do you feel about both your Aunt and your parents?"

"I-I don't know. I know I should be...angry, at what she had done. But I also feel betrayed and disgusted by my parents actions as well."

"It's normal to feel anger, son. It's a powerful motivater. But it can also be a poison. Do you think, that the actions of both your parents and your Aunt was justified, even as they happened in the way that they did?"

"Aunt Astra may not have..killed our people, but she was still an integral part of the faction that did. And my parents, my own mother, thought it wise to use both Kara and I. I want to believe my Aunt is a changed person. I really do, but I just don't know how."

Rising from his seat, Pop came to the conflicted man and placed a hand on his right shoulder pad, "Now you listen here, son. Take my advice as many before you have, the past is the past. The only direction in life that matters, is forward. Never backwards. What your Aunt did, is done and over with. Her actions caused her to pay the price, not once, but twice, right? At the cost of her life, hmm?"

Chris nodded, looking at the old man with a new clarity.

"It's the same for your parents, despite the way they handled things in the way they did. The powers that be, whether it's God, or..or..."

"Rao?" Chris tried.

"Who's that?"

"It was our God, he was our Sun God. Rao provided warmth and comfort when we needed him."

"Right then...uh Rao, or whoever," he continued where he left off. "However your Aunt was brought back to life in this world, this Earth, for whatever reason, it's because of you that she is here now. Her penance, is to watch you be the man you are apparently destined to be."

"What is my destiny?" Chris asked looking into the old mans eyes, as if he knew the answers to his personal questions.

"Son, I'm an old man. Even I don't have all of the answers, but what I do know, is that you are here for a reason. Whatever that reason is, I'm just glad that you're being you. Being a hero, a true hero. You have so much potential in you to lead us to a new world. A better future. Your current actions have shown that you are on the right path. You came to me, looking for answers. Here's my answer, time heals all wounds, but never forget the damage they have caused. This is your Aunts chance, her last chance. Like your Aunt, I too was once a bad person, but due to something that opened my eyes, it changed me. Maybe she can change too. This is her first step, the next one is yours."

The shop was silent as Chris bowed his head in thought. A moment or two passed before he raised his head and smiled a small smile, "Thank you, Pop." the Kryptonian meekly replied. "You're right."

"I would hope so." the old man said as he stood straight and released Chris' shoulder. He then noticed the many people who stopped to listen and observe the one on one session between the old man and the newest hero. "What the hell is all this?"

Minutes later, as people began to finally clear out, Chris began to follow them when he stopped at the door. Turning around he asked Pop, "Would it be alright if I stopped by from time to time?"

"Son, you are welcome here, always." was Pop's reply, as he smiled at the young man, "Now, don't be a stranger, you here?"

"Yes sir." Chris said with a full blown smile as he added his reply with a single nod and exited the Barber shop a few seconds later. With a gentle lift, he had yet to look away as he began to fly off until he reached an appropriate height and then accelerated into the darkening skies. When he was nothing more than a mere speck, a very big individual with a similar physical build as Chris, stepped up beside Pop who stood, watching the sky as Chris disappeared, "That was some deep stuff, Pop. Why did he come to you?"

"Who knows." Pop shrugged, "Maybe he needed a non-judgmental person to speak to. Someone who would listen without taking sides." Closing the door, the old man turned back to the man beside him, "Maybe he reminds me of you. All of that power, but if used in a negative effect, could prove to be trouble. That's something the world doesn't need, Luke. It needs heroes, now more than ever. Maybe you can take a page from him and be your own hero as well."

"I am not being a hero, let alone dress like that." Luke Cage said as he grabbed a broom and began to clean the shop.

The chuckles that the both of them had from the non-verbal humor filled the silent shop.

Throughout the night, Chris watched over the city of Harlem, New York. Managing to stop a few muggings, several shootings between opposing gangs, and a few other petty crimes. A time or two, he swore he was being watched when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. On the second time, he had turned to search for the source of his uneasiness, but whatever it was, it would delve back into the shadows and disappear, wherein even his visual senses could not detect his watcher.

With the Kryptonian finally calling it a night with New York being all silent, Chris flew off to parts unknown. A dark figure emerging from the shadows, turned his concealed head as if to observe Chris's departure.

'That was close.' Matt Murdock thought to himself as by now the Superman was beyond his own abilities to detect. 'For a moment or two, I could have sworn he nearly saw me.'

Chris decided to head home to his recently acquired apartment and call it a night. He'd deal with making a decision regarding Astra come the afternoon of the next day, once he was free from his work that is. A few seconds later, as he slowly lowered himself towards the balcony of the apartment, his hearing picked up the familiar heartbeat of someone whom brought a smile to his face. Gently touching down, he touched a fake brick panel that was in actuality a holograhic hand scanner that was glamoured to look like a brick.

The glass doors opened, permitting him to walk in as his eyes made out the form of his Godmother, Alice. But she was wearing not just a dark outfit with a turtleneck sweater, but was wearing a serious expression as well. "Aunt Alice?"

Turning to him, Alice Schofield gave him a what he could discern to be a false, yet saddened smile. 'There's a lot of that going around today.' he thought to himself.

"Hello Chris. Sorry for barging in like this." she said.

"It's no problem. You're welcome here, anytime." he replied as she had risen from the sofa he had sitting in the living room and came to and embraced him, with him returning the hug in kind. Pulling back at arms length a few seconds later, he asked, "Not that I mind, cause I don't but what brings you here this late?"

"Perhaps,...perhaps we should sit down. This is important." He then noticed she had a thin briefcase that resided on the glass pained living room table.

"Alice, what's going on? Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"No, at least not yet anyway." she answered. With a loud intake of breath she then said, "God, this is hard. Look Chris, you know that I love you and would never intentionally hurt you, correct?"

He nodded.

"Good, and you also know that I would never hurt your parents, right?"

Again he nodded.

"Alice, what's going on? Why so nervous?"

Kneeling before him and grasping his hands, she looked into his eyes and then asked, "Have you ever heard of S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

 **Going to leave it here while I prepare for the next chapter. Getting ready for the movie and then fireworks after dinner tonight. It's going to be a blast to enjoy. Hope you enjoy both this story and the days entertainment. Have fun and Happy Fourth of July. Until next time.**


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